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THIRTY YEARS FROM HOME, 

OR 

A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK 

BEING 

THE EXPERIENCE OF 
SAMUEL LEECH, 

WHO WAS FOR SIX YEARS IN THE BRITISH AND AMER 
ICAN NAVIES: WAS CAPTURED IN THE BRITISH 
"FRIGATE MACEDONIAN: AFTERWARDS EN- 
TERED THE AMERICAN NAVY, AND WAS 
TAKEN IN THE UNITED STATES 
BRIG SYREN, BY THE BRIT- 
ISH SHIP MEDWAY. 

EMBELLISHED WITH ENGRAVINGS. 



BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY TAPPAN & DENNET 

114 Washington Street. 

1 843. 



Q- 












Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1843, 

BY SAMUEL LEECH, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. 



To Replace lost copy 

^B 1 S 1952 




STEREOTYPY 

GEORGE A. CURTIS, 

N. ENGLAND TYPE AND STEREOTYPE FOUNDRY BOSTON. 



PREFACE. 

I have often been solicited, by my personal 
friends, to commit trie incidents of my life to 
paper. It was thought that they contained suf- 
ficient interest to command public attention. At 
any rate, there is a novelty in the fact of an 
unlettered sailor's appearance before the public, 
detailing the secrets of the naval Main Deck. 
The Quarter Deck has long and often told its own 
story, and has given its own coloring to naval life. 
Here, however, is a voice from the main deck, 
revealing life in a man of war as it appears to 
the sailor himself. As such, this work has some 
claim on the attention of the public. 

I have endeavored to state facts as they were 
when I was a sailor, and in the ships to which 
I belonged. My object is to give a true picture. 
That, I have done, as far as a remarkably strong 
memory enabled me. I kept no journals, and 
consequently some slight mistakes in names, dates 
and places, may be found in my book ; but I have 
1* 



VI PREFACE. 

been careful to state nothing as facts, of which I 
was not certain. 

That the naval service has improved since I 
belonged to it, is, I believe, universally admitted. 
I rejoice at it. Still, it is not yet what it should 
be. If this work should, in any degree, stir up the 
public mind to amend the condition of seamen, I 
shall feel gratified, and fully repaid for the labor 
of placing these facts on record. 

With many prayers that the perusal of these 
pages may do good, I leave the reader to pursue 
his way along the track of my experience : assur- 
ing him, that what may afford him pleasure to 
read, has cost me much pain to suffer. 

Samuel Leech. 



RECOMMENDATIONS, 



From the Hon. Erastus Corning. 

Albany, December 3, 1842, 

To WHOM IT MAY CONCERN : 

I have known and have had intercourse with Mr. 
Samuel Leech, for the last twenty years, and have 
always found him honorable in his dealings, and con- 
sider him entitled to the confidence of the public as a 
man of strict integrity. 

ERASTUS CORNING. 



The undersigned, being acquainted with Mr. Samuel 
Leech, the author of the following work, do cheerfully 
vouch for his moral and Christian character ; and assure 
the public, that the interesting volume, which he here 
presents to the world, may be relied upon as an honest 
statement of facts, with which the writer was personally 
conversant ; and as having no fellowship whatever with 
those fictitious tales of the sea, which, under the garb 
and professions of truth, have been proffered to the 
reading community. 

CHARLES ADAMS, 

Principal Wes. Academy. 

JOHN BOWERS, 

Pastor Cong. Church, Wilbraham, Mass. 
Wilbraham, May 4, 1843. 

DAVID PATTEN, 

Pastor, Providence, R. J. 

REUBEN RANSOM, 

P. Elder, Springfield Dis. JV. E. C. 

HENRY CHASE, 

Preacher to Seamen, N. Y* 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 

The author's father — An unlucky fall — Dying expressions 
of his father — The author's birth-place — Change in his 
condition — Early predilection for the sea — An orphan's 
fate — A cross aunt — A child's home — A sailor cousin — 
Visit to London — Removal to Bladen — Home — Scenery 
of Wanstead — English stage-coach described — A sleepy 
passenger — A sailor's frolics — Woodstock park — Origin 
of Blenheim house — A kind father-in-law — Bladen vil- 
lage — Its moral character — Lent — Bladen feast — Dis- 
content — Advice to young people — The old soldier's 
influence — Other influences — Visit to Lord Fitzroy — 
High hopes — Agreeable news — Preparation — Departure 
from Bladen, ..... 17 



CHAPTER II. 

Visit to Wanstead — Gravesend — High gratification — Goes 
on board the Macedonian — Disappointment — The sep- 
aration — A man of war's mess — A disagreeable mess- 
mate — Rough usage — Swearing — Useless regrets — The 
Irishman's lament — Addition to the crew — Hint to sail- 
or boys — Internal arrangements of a ship of war — Top- 
men — Forecastle men — After-guard, waisters — Scaven- 
gers — Boys — Wardroom officers and servants — Watches 
described — Idlers — The guns — Quarters — Duties of ma- 
rines — Boarders — Difference between a merchant ship 



CONTENTS. 

and a man of war — The boatswain — Piping the hands 
up, described — The rope's-end argument — Anecdote of 
Billy Garvy — A wise determination — Bill of fare in 
a man of war — Grog — Wine — A sailor's burial — The 
Macedonian gets under weigh — Arrival at Spithead — 
Flogging for drunkenness — The scene described— Hon- 
orable exceptions — Mr. Scott and the marine — Two 
boys run away — We take troops on board and sail for 
Lisbon — Sea-sickness — Land — The Tagus — Arrival at 
Lisbon — The city described — Supply of edibles — An 
order — A cruise to Corunna — A desertion — Our return 
to Lisbon — The victim of jealousy — Affray — Shocking 
sight — Change of officers — Increase of floggings — Poor 
Bob Hammond — A flogging scene — Flogging through 
the fleet — Bad effects of severe discipline — Murder of 
a marine — Execution — Advantage of mild discipline — 
Drunkenness — Christmas day on board the Macedonian 
■ — Improvement among seamen desirable, ... 34 



CHAPTER III. 

An alarm — A bootless cruise — Wreck — Quarrel between 
the captain and sailing-master— Its result — Change of 
commanders — Mr. Hope and the boys — Our men de- 
sert — Bloody Dick — Happy Jack — Attempted suicide — 
A negro runs away and is retaken — Good Friday in Lis- 
bon — A perplexity on shore — Narrow escape from be- 
ing flogged — The press-gang — Several Americans im- 
pressed — Another cruise — A terrible storm — Loss of a 
man — The author's sickness — Black Tom's death and 
burial — Another bare escape from flogging — Another 
change of commanders — Severity of Captain Carden's 
administration — A brutal sentence on an alleged thief— 
A man flogged through the fleet — Our drummer de 
mands a court-martial — Its unpleasant termination— 
A question — Danger of attempting mutiny — Change in 



CONTENTS. XI 

my situation — The captain's band — Order for a new 
cruise, 68 



CHAPTER IV. 

A man overboard — A false alarm — Arrive at Madeira- 
Cruise to St. Michael's— Birth of two children — Return 
to Lisbon — Short cruises why liked — Bob Hammond 
in trouble again — Jack Sadler attempts to desert — Sad- 
ler and Hammond placed in irons — Bob's defence — The 
Broorners — Bob Hammond runs away — Rumor of war 
with America— The Macedonian sails with despatches 
to America — Sufferings through cold — Anecdote of a 
tyrannical lieutenant — Reach Hampton Roads — Good 
fare — Refusal to let the crew go ashore — Reason — 
Exchange of courtesies between Captain Garden and 
Commodore Decatur — The Leopard and the Chesa- 
peake — Departure from Virginia— At Lisbon — The 
mail-bag — Advantage of a little education — Macedo- 
nian sails for England, ......... 92 



CHAPTER V. 

Delight at seeing my native land — Plymouth — Use made 
of shore-liberty by sailors — A Sabbath ashore- Good 
effects of temperance illustrated— Desire and opportu- 
nity to run away — I resolve to remain — A man df war 
a bad place for a boy — Licentiousness in port — Danger 
follows the sailor everywhere — The loss of the Royal 
George — Extract from Cowper — The Macedonian is 
hauled up — Repaired — Sailing orders — A bad practice 
— Getting under weigh — Engaged in the blockade of 
Brest — Ordered to Plymouth — Order countermanded — 
Unlucky adventurers — A prize, 108 



Xll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Rumor of war — A great mistake — Departure from Torbay 
with a convoy — A strict look-out — Sabbath at sea — A 
sail — Hands beat to quarters — Battle between the Mace- 
donian and the United States — Awful destruction of 
life — Surrender of the Macedonian — Copy of a letter 
from Captain Carden, to the British admiralty office, 
describing the action, 122 



CHAPTER VII. 

Scenes in the cockpit and steerage, after the battle — Arri- 
val of the victors on board — Part of our crew taken on 
board the United States — Good feeling between all par- 
ties — Macedonian refitted — Meeting of the two com- 
manders — Sailing qualities of the United States inferior 
to the Macedonian — Difference in force and metal be- 
tween the two frigates — The influence of motives in 
favor of the Americans — Arrival at Newport — Burial 
of Thomas Whittaker — The wounded taken on shore — 
Visitors at Hurl-gate — Christmas day — The author 
escapes from the Macedonian — Reaches New York — 
Boards at a widow's in the city — Good news — Cele- 
bration of Decatur's victory — Decatur's wife — Account 
of the fortunes of several of the prisoners who ran 
away, 141 



CHAPTER VIII. 

The author meets with his old shipmates — A proposition — 
An awkward dilemma — Refusal to ship — Low state of 
his funds — A generous offer — The author becomes a 



CONTENTS. XI11 

boot-maker's apprentice — A pleasant report — A visit 
to the United States frigate — A pleasant discovery — 
Change of purpose — Quits the shoemaker — Is robbed 
by a negro— Goes to Salem — Dreams — Serious emotions 
— Revival among the Baptists — A fishing excursion — ■ 
Dangerous proximity to a British brig — The Chesa- 
peake and Shannon— The author ships in the gun brig 
Syren — Her armament, &c. described, .... 166 



CHAPTER IX. 

Plan to capture the Nimrod defeated by the wind — Orders 
to sail for Africa— 'Leave Boston — Voyage to the Afri- 
can coast — Death of the captain — An unpleasant catas- 
trophe — Mr. Nicholson assumes the command — The 
Grand Turk frightened — Trade with the natives — Short 
allowance of water— An enemy — Battle of Senegal— 
A Yankee trick — The Syren reaches St. Thomas — A 
prize — Another capture — Petty tyranny resisted — The 
gunner's water keg robbed— The Syren refitted at 
Angola — She starts for America — Passes the island 
of Ascension — A sail — Anecdote — Chase — The Syren 
captured by the Medway seventy-four — Short allow- 
ance — Landed at Simon's Town — A painful journey 
— Arrival at the prison in Cape Town, ... 181 



CHAPTER X. 

Description of our prison — Rules adopted — A petty annoy- 
ance cured — A lesson given to a Dutchman — Quality 
of our provisions — Dainties— Amusements — A suicide 
— The slaves of Cape Town — Table mountain and the 
Lion's Rump — The hospital — The author visits it — 
Feigns sickness — The Trunk — The surgeon's passion, 
and its consequences — A Dutch wedding — A plot — Dis 
2 



XIV CONTENTS. 

covery — Rumored visit of a missionary — True feelings 
of seamen on religious subjects — Anecdote — Mr. Thorn's 
visit — Religious meetings — Seriousness — The author's 
dream — A pleasant rumor — Presents of the prisoners 
to Mr. Thorn — The author's alarm — Embarkation on 
board the Cumberland — Voyage to St. Helena — A 
transfer — A cause for great fear — An American ship — 
Tidings of the renewal of the French war — Its reception 
by the officers and crew of the Grampus — Arrival at Spit- 
head — Transfer to the Puissant — Anecdote— Removed 
to the Rover and conveyed to Plymouth — Placed on 
board the Royal Sovereign — Transferred to the "Wood- 
rop Simms — Sail for America — A terrible gale — Arrival 
at New York — Placed on board the Tom Bowling — The 
Syren's crew paid off — Life in a boarding-house — 
Good resolutions evaporate — Money soon expended — 
The author ships in the brig Boxer, 201 



CHAPTER XI. 

Landsharks — Purser's tricks — The Boxer — Desertions — A 
man killed — Captain Porter — Hardships — A blow on 
the head — Sailing orders — The sailing-master — Tyran- 
nical officers — Flogging by the officers — Arrival at Ship 
Island — Getting water — Moschetos and gallinippers — 
Passage to New Orleans — A man brutally flogged — A 
passionate blow — The Boxer hauled up — Desertions — 
Flogging — Return to Ship Island — "Work on Captain 
Porter's land — A murder — Passage to Tampico — Turtle 
— Privateers — An attack — The privateer hauls off — 
The Boxer cruises to various ports — The unlucky hand- 
spike — Danger to seamen on the look-out — Sea-sick- 
ness — More running away — My own feelings — Capture 
of the Comet, a privateer — Tom Smith, his philosophy 
and punishment — Character of our crew — Need of 
Christian labor among seamen — A plan suggested, 232 



CONTENTS. XV 

CHAPTER XII. 

Homeward passage — Story telling — Their moral effect — - 
The author threatened with a flogging — Smuggling — 
Arrival at New York — My discontent — Escape from 
the Boxer — Journey to Hartford — Distress — The hos- 
pitable Presbyterian — Deacon Cook — Woman's kind- 
ness — A fortunate discovery of an old shipmate — A 
situation — The author at work on a farm — Anecdote — 
The funeral — Its moral effects — Seriousness — A prayer- 
meeting — Profession of religion — A period of backslid- 
ing — Recovery — A camp-meeting — Father Taylor — 
The parting scene — Author joins the Methodist church 
— The crew of the Macedonian — John Wiskey — Hutch- 
inson — James Day, 256 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Home feelings — Correspondence with home — Letter from 
my mother — Fear of apprehension leads me to decline 
going to her — My father-in-law's death — A new business 
— Another change — Rum-selling — Convictions on the 
subject — The temperance lecture — My marriage — 
Rum-selling given up — Removal to Wilbraham — Pros- 
perity — A visit to the Macedonian — An exhortation to 
her crew — Home correspondence — Lord Churchill's 
note — Dr. Fisk's visit to my mother — A mother's 
present — Resolution to visit England — Preparations, 275 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Departure from home — A cabin in the George Washington 
— Cheated by the cook — The packet sails — A day's expe- 
rience from my journal — Religious service on Sabbath 
— Arrival at Liverpool — The custom-house, Liverpool 



XVI CONTENTS. 

— Journey to Stafford — The hackmen — Meeting witn 
my sister — Election day in Stafford — Stafford — Re- 
mains of a baronial castle — St. Mary's church — The 
poor-house — A good custom — Beggars and poverty — 
Drunkenness — Beer, a hindrance to the temperance 
cause — Departure from Stafford — Arrival at Bladen — 
Meeting with my mother — A happy family party — 
Visit to Oxford — Description of the town — Great Tom- - 
Mr. Wesley's room at college — The martyr's stones — 
Departure from Bladen — Arrival at London — Trip to 
Walthamstow and Wanstead — A visit to the city road 
chapel — Tombs of "Wesley, Clarke, Benson, Bunyan, 
and Watts — Condition of the English poor — Taxation — 
Expenses of royalty — Departure for Boston — Long 
passage — Safe arrival — Closing remarks to the reader 
—Note— My mother's death, 287 



VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 



CHAPTER I. 

The author's father — An unlucky fall — Dying expressions 
of his father — The author's birth-place — Change in his 
condition — Early predilection for the sea — An orphan's 
fate — A cross aunt — A child's home — A sailor cousin — 
Visit to London — Removal to Bladen — Home — Scenery 
of "VVanstead — English stage-coach described-— A sleepy 
passenger — A sailor's frolics — Woodstock park — Origin 
of Blenheim house — A kind father-in-law — Bladen vil- 
lage — Its moral character— Lent— Bladen feast — Dis- 
content — Advice to young people — The old soldier's 
influence — Other influences — Visit to Lord Fitzroy — 
High hopes — Agreeable news — Preparation — Departure 
from Bladen. 

Were it not that the most common of all inqui- 
ries, respecting every man who comes before the 
public, is, " who is he ? whence did he proceed ? 
who were his parents?" &c, I would not detain 
the reader with any account of my humble ances- 
tors and their circumstances. But, since men 
naturally expect this information, and would hence 
consider my narrative imperfect without it, I shall 
take the liberty to introduce them. 

My father's occupation was that of valet de 
chambre to Lord William Fitzroy, son of the Duke 
2* 



18 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

of Grafton. My recollections concerning him are 
few and indistinct, as he died while I was yet 
scarcely three years old. One little incident alone 
reminds me of wearing a mourning dress as a 
memento of sorrow for his death. Returning from 
the parish church in Walthamstow, I observed 
the larger boys amusing themselves by swinging 
across the rails of the fences ; endeavoring to 
join in their amusement, my hands slipped, and 
falling into a muddy ditch, I nearly finished my 
course, ere it was well begun, by a violent death. 
A benevolent stranger, however, rescued me, and 
once safe, my grief for the sad condition of my 
little black frock was excessive and inconsolable. 
A trifling cause for sorrow, to be sure, yet men 
and women often grieve for causes equally con- 
temptible. 

Although my personal remembrances of my 
father's death are so indistinct, yet the frequent 
mention made of him by my mother, has left the 
pleasing impression on my mind that he died a 
Christian. " I have thought of my numerous sins* 
but God has forgiven them all. Be not troubled, 
for the Lord will provide for you and your chil- 
dren. You need not fear to leave me, for I am 
not alone; God is with me, though you are out of 
the room," were among his dying expressions ; 
when, after fourteen months' endurance of the 
pains which accompany a slow consumption, he 
approached " that bourne from which no traveller 
returns." I expect to find my honored father in 
heaven. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 19 

Wanstead, in Essex, about seven miles from the 
great metropolis of England, was the town, and 
1798 the year, of my birth. Were it necessary to 
designate the place more particularly, it might be 
said that the part of Wanstead where I first strug- 
gled into being, was called Nightingale Place ; a 
most musical name, conferred in honor of the 
nightingales which abounded in the vicinity. 

Two years subsequently to my father's demise, 
my mother became an inmate of the family of 
Lady Francis Spencer, daughter of the Duke of 
Grafton, and wife of Lord Spencer. As a conse- 
quence of this event, I was deprived of a mother's 
care and consigned to the charge of my aunt 
Turner, whose family amounted to the very re- 
spectable number of twenty-two sons and two 
daughters. 

The transfer of a child from the care of its pa- 
rent to that of another person, may appear, at first 
sight, to be a very unimportant incident; but 
trifling as it seems, it often exerts an influence 
which very materially changes the destiny of the 
child : it was so in my case. Most of my cousins 
were sailors, and some of them were constantly 
returning home, bringing, with true sailors' munifi- 
cence, the pleasing and curious productions of 
distant climes as presents to their parents and 
friends ; then, seated round the bright hearth-side, 
they used to tell of wild adventures and hair- 
breadth escapes, spinning out the winter evening's 
tale to the infinite delight of their willing listeners. 



20 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

Poor fellows! three of them died at sea; two more, 
John and Richard, perished in the ill-fated Blen- 
heim, a seventy-four gun ship of the British navy, 
which went down off the Cape of Good Hope, with 
seven hundred as brave men on board as ever trod 
a plank. Notwithstanding these sad recollections, 
and though none perceived it, my three years' res- 
idence among these " sailors bold" decided the 
nature of my future calling ; it captivated my im- 
agination and begat a curiosity, which ultimately 
led me to make my " home upon the bounding 
deep." 

An orphan is ever exposed to changes. The 
loss of either parent calls for a degree of sympathy 
and kindness from others, which they are rarely 
willing to expend except on their own. Such is 
the almost universal selfishness of human nature. 
My experience affords a verification of the truth- 
fulness of the remark. For some cause or other, 
it became inconvenient for me to remain with my 
kind aunt Turner, and my next home was with a 
widowed aunt, at Wanstead, where I did not 
meet with the same kindness of treatment. The 
breaking of a cup, or any of the thousand-and-one 
offences found in the list of juvenile defects, was 
sure to bring upon me the infliction of the rod ; 
and, what was equally painful, my most economi- 
cal aunt exacted the full payment for all these 
losses from the little pocket money I obtained by 
holding a horse, running errands, or as new-year 
and Christmas presents ; thus gratifying her tern- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 2] 

per and her covetousness at once, besides embit- 
tering", to some extent, the boyish hours of my 
unfortunate self. 

There is no evil in the management of children 
to be more deprecated than that species of treat- 
ment which tends to destroy their happiness. 
Correction for obvious faults, in a proper manner, 
is essential to their proper moral training ; but a 
habit of incessantly scolding them for every little 
accident or offence, only serves to excite the 
growth of evil passions and to make them dislike 
their home ; things to be avoided as much as 
Scylla and Charybdis by the careful mariner. 
The influence of such mal-treatment follows the 
child through life, like an evil genius, materially 
affecting his views of life and the temper of his 
mind. For aught that now occurs to me, but for 
this unkindness, my early predilection for the sea 
would have died within me ; while, as it was, I 
panted to enjoy the freedom my fancy painted in 
its pictures of sailor life. To add to my sorrows, 
my mother removed my sister, who had been my 
cheerful companion and true friend, to a lady's 
school at Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, for the two- 
fold purpose of affording her greater literary 
advantages, and of being able to see her more 
frequently. 

Several incidents occurred during my abode 
here, which tended to increase my growing desire. 
A smart, active sailor, over six feet in height and 
well proportioned, one day presented himself at 



22 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

my aunt's door. He told us he had been to 
America, where he had seen a young man named 
George Turner, who was her nephew and my 
cousin. He proceeded to tell many fine stories 
about him, and at last inquired if she should not 
like to see him, and if she should know him. 

" I don't know as I should," said my aunt, " he 
has been away so long." 

" Well, then," replied he, " I am George Tur- 
ner!" 

This fine, bold seaman, then, was rny own 
cousin, son to my aunt Turner; he had been eleven 
years at sea, and, after visiting his parents, took 
this method of surprising his aunt. Most likely 
he has made this adventure the subject of many a 
forecastle yarn since then. While he remained 
he was so jolly, so liberal, and so full of pleasant 
stories, that I began to feel quite sure that sailors 
were noble fellows. 

We were also favored with a visit from an 
uncle, then visiting Europe from the West Indies. 
He Was one of two brothers, who were educated 
at Greenwich for the navy. One of them had 
entered the British navy, and by dint of merit and 
hard service rose to the possession of a commis- 
sion in the service, but ultimately perished at sea. 
This one had chosen the merchant service, but 
afterwards settled at Antigua. He took me with 
him to London, and carried me over the West 
India docks ; he being well acquainted with many 
of the captains, they treated me with playful atten- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 23 

lion, inquiring if I did not wish to be a cabin-boy, 
and the like. When I returned to Wanstead, it 
was with a stronger desire than ever to be a 
sailor. My uncle went to Trinidad, and died 
shortly after. 

A very pleasant piece of intelligence greeted 
me soon after these incidents ; it was nothing less 
than my removal from the care of my unkind 
aunt to the roof of my mother. Weary of her 
widowhood, she had again become a wife. My 
new parent was a widower with one son ; a 
carpenter by occupation, in the employ of the 
Duke of Marlborough. Great was my joy when 
this fact was communicated to my young mind. I 
hailed it as a deliverance from bondage, and with 
beaming eyes and cheerful face hurried to bid 
adieu to my classmates in the day and in the 
Sunday school — a sad proof of the unfitness of 
my aunt for her task; since a child properly treated, 
will love its home too well to quit it without a 
tear; and if parents and guardians wish to pre- 
vent their children from being wanderers and 
stragglers through the wide world, let me bid 
them exert the utmost effort to make their home 
pleasant. Throw a charm round it, make it en- 
chanted ground, cause it to become, in the lan- 
guage of a living poet, 

; 

" The fairy ring of bliss ;" 

and then your children will love it too well to 
wander. 



24 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

But I was now about to leave Wanstead, and, 
although delighted to he rid of the surveilance of 
a cross old relation, there were some things 
which threw an air of sadness occasionally over 
my mind. There were many pleasant associa- 
tions connected with the place; its beautiful park, 
with herds of timid deer grazing under its tall 
oaks, upon whose green old heads the sun had 
shone for centuries ; the venerable mansion, seated 
like a queen amid the sylvan scene; the old parish 
church, with its gorgeously painted windows, to 
which I had often walked on the Sabbath with 
my fellow-scholars in the Sabbath school, and 
beside whose deep-toned organ I had sat listening 
to the learned priest ; the annual hunt at Easter, 
in which I had often joined the crew of idle lads 
that gave chase to the distracted deer; and the 
pleasant walks, made cheerful by the songs of 
innumerable birds, in Epping forest, were all to be 
left — perhaps forever. This thought made me 
somewhat sad, but it was swallowed up in the joy 
I felt when my mother appeared to conduct me to 
Bladen, some sixty miles from London, which 
was the place of her abode since her marriage. 

Behold me then, gentle reader, seated with my 
mother on the outside of a stage-coach, with some 
ten fellow-passengers. The stage-coach of Eng- 
land is quite a different vehicle from the carriage 
known by that name in America. True, it is 
drawn by four horses, and it runs on four wheels, 
but here the likeness ends ; instead of being built 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 25 

to carry twelve persons inside, it carries but six, 
while outside it has seats for twelve. Three or 
four passengers ride very comfortably behind, in 
what is called the basket, which is the territory 
of the guard, as the boot before is of the coach- 
man. All mail coaches, and all others travelling 
in the night, carry a guard, or an armed man, for 
the purpose of protecting the coach from the 
attacks of footpads or highway robbers. 

The dulness of our journey was somewhat re- 
lieved, after a long season of silence, by the dis- 
tress of an unfortunate passenger, who, falling 
asleep, nodded so violently, that his hat, supposing 
it was receiving notice to quit, very unceremo- 
niously took leave of the skull it covered, and 
plunged into the mud. The outcry of the poor 
passenger, who was soon waked by the wind 
sporting amid his hair, and his unavailing requests 
to stop the stage, put us all into good humor with 
ourselves and with each other. 

We had another source of relief in the antics 
of a wild, hairbrained sailor. From spinning 
yarns, which looked amazingly like new inven- 
tions, he would take to dancing on the roof of the 
coach ; at the foot of a hill he would leap off, and 
then spring up again with the agility of a monkey, 
to the no small amusement of the passengers. 
The more I saw of this reckless, thoughtless tar, 
the more enamored I became with the idea of a 
sea life ; and thus this journey to my mother's 
new abode was another link in the chain that de- 
3 



26 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK, 

cided my future destiny in the drama of life. How 
strangely and imperceptibly do small events tend 
to unexpected results. A match may fire a city 
and lay desolate the work of ages ; a single leak 
may sink a bark and carry desolation to a hun- 
dred firesides — and trifles in the daily scenes of 
human life, give character to our immortality. 
We cannot, therefore, too carefully watch the 
influence of small events,, especially on young 
minds. 

At Woodstock, famed in the annals of England 
as the scene of the loves of King Henry and Ros- 
amond Clifford, we quitted our stage companions, 
and proceeded on foot to Bladen, two miles 
distant. Our road lay through Blenheim or 
Woodstock park, which we entered through the 
triumphal arch, a spacious portal, erected to the 
memory of John, Duke of Marlborough, by Sarah, 
his duchess. On entering the park, which is 
nearly twelve miles in circumference, one of 
the most beautiful prospects imaginable disclosed 
itself. Blenheim Palace, which is among the 
most magnificent piles of architecture in England, 
appeared in front ; on the left were to be seen a 
part of the village of Woodstock, and on the right 
a broad and spacious lake, crossed by a superb 
bridge ; ^ a lofty column on the rising ground, 
erected in honor of John, Duke of Marlborough, 

# Near this bridge is a spring, called Rosamond's "Well, 
where Henry II. is said to have contrived a labyrinth, by 
which his guilty fair one communicated with the castle. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 27 

on which is the statue of that noble warrior ; a 
delightful valley, hills, plantations, herds of deer 
feeding, shady groves and ancient trees, all con- 
spired to render the scene enchantingly beautiful. 

Blenheim Palace, or Castle, was built at the 
public expense, in the reign of Queen Anne, and 
was given, with its annexed demesnes, in concur- 
rence with the voice of parliament, to John, Duke 
of Marlborough, as a testimony of royal favor and 
national gratitude for his successes over the French 
and Bavarians ; particularly for his victory at 
Blenheim, on the banks of the Danube, on the 
2d of August, 1704 

Crossing the park towards Bladen, we were 
met by my father-in-law, who received, me with a 
kindness which prepossessed me at once in his 
favor ; he conducted us home, where, to my no 
small gratification, I met my sister. 

My father-in-law appeared to be in comfortable 
circumstances. He resided in a very neat house, 
built of stone, shaded by a noble apricot tree, and 
ornamented with a small but pretty garden. This, 
together with another similar tenement, was his 
own property. To add to my satisfaction, I per- 
ceived that he was very kind to my mother, and 
also to myself. She one day expressed a desire 
to have the cold stone floor of the kitchen removed, 
and boarded instead ; my father, at considerable 
expense, gratified her wish ; this assured me of 
his regard for her comfort. 

With the village itself, I was equally well 



28 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK, 

pleased. Though containing few houses, it was 
delightfully pleasant. Fine farms, with large 
flocks of quiet sheep grazing on their hill-sides ; 
expansive fields, surrounded with fragrant haw- 
thorn hedges; and old farm-houses, with their 
thatched roofs, and massive wheat ricks, met the 
pleased eye on all sides ; while cultivated gardens 
and numerous wild flowers, especially the modest 
cowslip and humble violet, scented the air and 
perfumed the breeze. Thus far, perhaps, Bladen 
was equal to Wanstead ; but in its moral aspects it 
was inferior. There was far less regard for the 
Sabbath; less attention to the moral culture of 
the young, than at the latter place. That blessed 
institution, which has vivified and renewed the 
church, which has filled her with the vigorous pul- 
sations of youth — from which, as from some pro- 
lific nursery, she has obtained the plants, which 
now stand on her mountain-tops like the tall 
cedars of Lebanon — the modest, unassuming Sab' 
bath school was not there. Consequently, the 
Sabbath was spent in roaming about the fields, in 
amusements, in visiting, in taking excursions to a 
place called Eamsden, some seven miles distant. 
True, there was a parish church, with two clergy- 
men belonging to its altars, but there was service 
only once every Sunday within its ancient walls. 
During Lent, however, both priests and people 
were more religious ; the church was better at- 
tended; the children were examined as to their 
knowledge of the church catechism ! They were 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 29 

even excited to diligence in committing it to 
memory by the inducement of reward. A Bible 
and two prayer books were given to the lads who 
excelled in answering the questions. At the first 
Lent examination after my coming to Bladen, the 
Bible, the highest prize, was awarded to me, and 
the second year the minister assigned me the task 
of hearing the others recite — a striking proof of 
the benefit of Sunday school instruction ; it gave 
me both a moral and mental superiority over all 
my compeers in the little village of Bladen. This 
special attention to religion only lasted during the 
term of Lent ; when, with a return to the use of 
meat, the people returned to the neglect of the 
Sabbath. 

The inhabitants of Bladen were very social in 
their habits. They held an annual feast, called 
Bladen feast, to which they invited their friends 
from other towns ; it commenced on Sabbath and 
continued three days. Eating, drinking, talking, 
fortune-telling, gambling, occupied three days of 
wassail and jollity; after which the visitors re- 
turned to their respective towns, and the people to 
their occupations. The neighboring villages gave 
similar feasts in their turn. They were occasions 
of much evil and folly. 

My time flew very rapidly and pleasantly away 
for two or three years, until, like most children, 
I began to sigh for deliverance from the restraints 
of home. I had already left school, and for some 
time, being now about thirteen years of age, had 
3* 



30 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

been employed in the pleasure-grounds of Blen- 
heim Palace. This, however, was too tame a 
business for a lad of my spirits. I had heard tales 
of the sea from my cousins ; my mother had filled 
my mind with the exploits of my grandfather ; my 
imagination painted a life on the great deep in 
the most glowing colors ; my mind grew uneasy ; 
every day, my ordinary pursuits became more and 
more irksome, and I was continually talking about 
going to sea ; indeed, I had made myself unhappy 
by being so discontented. 

Little do lads and young men know of the dif- 
ference between the comfort of a parent's roof 
and the indifference, unkindness, and trouble they 
invariably experience, who go out into the world, 
until they have made the experiment. They 
paint everything in bright colors ; they fancy the 
future to be all sunshine, all sweets, all flowers, 
but are sure to be wofully disappointed, when 
once away from the fireside of their infancy. Let 
me advise young people, if they wish to escape 
hardships, to be contented, to remain quietly at 
home, abiding the openings of Providence, obeying 
the wishes of their parents, who not only have 
their best good at heart, but, however they may 
think to the contrary, who actually know what is 
most for their advantage. 

My passion for a seaman's life was not a little 
increased by a soldier, who was sergeant to a 
company in Lord Francis Spencer's regiment of 
cavalry. Seated by my father's hearth-side, this 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 31 

old soldier, who had once been a sailor, would 
beguile many an evening hour with his endless 
tale, while I sat listening in enrapt attention. 
My mother, too, heedlessly fanned the flame by 
her descriptions of the noble appearance of the 
ships she had seen when at Brighton. Besides 
this, a footman at Blenheim House used to sing a 
song called " the poor little sailor boy ;" which, 
although somewhat gloomy in its descriptions, 
only served to heighten the flame of desire within 
me, until I could think of nothing else, day or 
night, but of going to sea. 

Finding my desires so strong, my kind-hearted 
mother mentioned them to Lady Spencer. Just 
at that time, her brother, Lord William Fitzroy, 
who was then expecting the command of a frigate, 
and with whom my departed father had lived as 
valet, happened to visit Blenheim, previously to 
going to sea. Anxious to serve my mother, Lady 
Spencer mentioned me to Lord Fitzroy. He sent 
for me. Trembling in every joint, I was ushered 
into his presence. He inquired if I should like to 
go to sea. " Yes, my lord, I should," was my 
ready answer. He dismissed me, after some fur- 
ther questionings ; but was heard to say, before he 
left, that he would take me under his care, and 
see to my future advancement. 

These dazzling prospects not only well nigh 
turned my brain, but decided my parents to send 
me to sea. To have their son an officer in the 
navy was an unlooked-for honor ; and they now 



32 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

entered into my plans and feelings with almost as 
much ardor as myself. Alas ! We were all 
doomed to learn how little confidence can be 
placed in the promises of nobles ! 

Not long after Lord Fitzroy's departure, we 
received a letter stating the fact of his appointment 
to his majesty's frigate Macedonian, which, being 
out of dock, was rapidly preparing for sea. This 
intelligence was the signal for bustle, excitement, 
preparation, and I know not what. Friends and 
gossips constantly crowded in to administer their 
gratuitous advice ; some predicting, to my infinite 
delight, that certainly so smart a boy would make 
a great man; others wore very grave counte- 
nances, and gave certain expressive shrugs of the 
shoulders, while they told of flogging through the 
fleet, or of being " seized up " for merely a look or 
a word ; in short, but for a strong conviction in 
my own breast that this was all said for effect, it 
is doubtful whether they would not have suc- 
ceeded in deterring me from my purpose. 

At last, after much ado, the long-expected day 
arrived when I was to bid farewell to home and 
friends, to venture abroad upon an unknown future. 
It would only vex the reader by its common-place 
character, or I would reveal all the nice little acts 
of parental, brotherly and neighborly affection 
which took place. Suffice it to say, that my part- 
ing was very much the same as that of all other 
boys of twelve, when they leave home for the first 
time — a mixture of hopes and fears, of tears and 
smiles, of sunshine and cloud. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 33 

Attended by my mother and her infant daugh- 
ter, on the 12th day of July, 1810, I turned my 
back on the quiet hamlet of Bladen. Henceforth 
my lot was to be cast amid noise, dissipation, 
storms and danger. This, however, disturbed 
my mind but little ; brushing away a tear, I leaped 
gaily on to the outside of the coach, and in a few 
minutes, enveloped in a cloud of dust, was on my 
way to London, filled with the one absorbing idea, 
" I am going to sea ! I am going to sea ! " Should 
the reader take the trouble to read the following 
chapters, he will learn the mishaps, hardships, 
pleasures and successes that befel me there ; and 
though my narrative may not be filled with the 
witching tales, and romantic descriptions, that 
abound in the works of the novelist, it shall at 
least commend itself to his notice for its truthful- 
ness 



CHAPTER II. 

Visit to "Wanstead — Gravesend — High gratification— Goes 
on board the Macedonian — Disappointment — The sep- 
aration — A man of war's mess — A disagreeable mess- 
mate — Rough usage — Swearing — Useless regrets — The 
Irishman's lament — Addition to the crew — Hint to sail- 
or boys — Internal arrangements of a ship of war — Top- 
men — Forecastle men — After-guard, waisters — Scaven- 
gers — Boys — Wardroom officers and servants — Watches 
described — Idlers — The guns — Quarters — Duties of ma- 
rines — Boarders — Difference between a merchant ship 
and a man of war — The boatswain — Piping the hands 
up, described — The rope's-end argument — Anecdote of 
Billy Garvy — A wise determination — Bill of fare in 
a man of war — Grog — Wine — A sailor's burial — The 
Macedonian gets under weigh — Arrival at Spithead — 
Flogging for drunkenness — The scene described — Hon- 
orable exceptions — Mr. Scott and the marine — Two 
boys run away — We take troops on board and sail for 
Lisbon — Sea sickness — Land — The Tagus — Arrival at 
Lisbon — The city described — Supply of edibles — An 
order — A cruise to Corunna — A desertion — Our return 
to Lisbon — The victim of jealousy — Affray — Shocking 
sight — Change of officers — Increase of floggings — Poor 
Bob Hammond — A flogging scene — Flogging through 
the fleet — Bad effects of severe discipline — Murder of 
a marine — Execution — Advantage of mild discipline — 
Drunkenness — Christmas day on board the Macedonian 
— Improvement among seamen desirable. 

Before we sought the decks of the Macedonian 
we paid a short visit to Wanstead, where we met 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 35 

with very pleasant reception, very hospitable en- 
tertainment, very affectionate adieus. Returning 
to London, we hired a boat and sailed down the 
Thames, on whose bosom reposed the commerce 
of the world, to Gravesend, where we spent the 
night. The next morning I experienced a new 
gratification, which was nothing less than being 
arrayed in a complete suit of sailor apparel ; a 
tarpaulin hat, round blue jacket and wide panta- 
loons. Never did young knight swell with loftier 
emotion when donning for the first time his iron 
dress, than I did when in sea dress I trod the 
streets of Gravesend. This had always been my 
highest ambition. The gaudily dressed soldier 
never had charms for me ; but a sailor, how nice 
he looked ! Well, here I stood, at last, in the 
often coveted dress ; it was the first luxury con- 
nected with my life at sea. Pity that each suc- 
cessive step had not yielded me equal delight. 
But it was mine to learn that anticipation and 
reality were not born twins ; that in fact there are 
scarcely any two existences so essentially different 
in their characteristics. That I should not lack 
the means of comfort, my good mother purchased 
me a chest of clothing, and, as her last token of 
maternal care, presented me with a Bible, a prayer 
book, and, strangely inconsistent companions, a 
pack of cards ! Thus equipped, we once more 
hired a boat and descended the river two miles 
below Gravesend, where lay the Macedonian, in 
graceful majesty on the sparkling waters. 



36 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

The first guest we met on Tjoard was disap- 
pointment. From the promises of Lord Fitzroy, 
we very strangely supposed that he felt my im- 
portance nearly as much as did my mother or 
father. Judge then how we felt, when we learned 
that no one knew anything in particular about 
my veritable self; yet, as his Lordship was absent, 
they said I might remain on board until his re- 
turn. This was rather a damper on my spirits, 
but flattering myself that all would be right on his 
return, I soon rallied again, and, aided by the 
■presence of my mother, passed a very agreeable 
day. 

Towards night, my mother left me ; it scarcely 
need be said, she wept when we parted. What 
mother would not ? She did weep ; she strained 
me to her heart, and impressed affection's purest 
kiss upon my cheek. How like a dream that 
moment fled ! Now, she held me in her arms ; a 
moment after, she was seated in the light boat 
and gliding along the turbid Thames, on her 
homeward way. I leaned over the tarTrail and 
gazed on the departing boat, and when it disap- 
peared, I turned away and wept. 

The morning after my arrival, I was put into a 
"mess." The crew of a man of war is divided 
into little communities of about eight, called 
" messes." These eat and drink together, and are, 
as it were, so many families. The mess to which 
I was introduced, was composed of your genuine, 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 37 

weather-beaten, old tars. But for one of its mem- 
bers, it would have suited me very well ; this one, a 
real gruff old " bull-dog," named Hudson, took into 
his head to hate me at first sight. He treated me 
with so much abuse and unkindness, that my 
messmates soon advised me to change my mess, 
a privilege which is wisely allowed, and which 
tends very much to the good fellowship of a ship's 
crew ; for if there are disagreeable men among 
them, they can in this way be got rid of; it is no 
unfrequent case to find a few. who have been 
spurned from all the messes in the ship, obliged 
to mess by themselves. 

This unkindness from the brutal Hudson rather 
chilled my enthusiasm. The crew, too, by some 
means had an impression that my mother had 
brought me on board to get rid of me, and there- 
fore bestowed their bitterest curses on her in 
the most profuse manner imaginable. Swearing 
I had heard before, but never such as I heard 
there. Nor was this all ; in performing the work 
assigned me, which consisted in helping the 
seamen take in provisions, powder, shot, &c, I 
felt the insults and tyranny of the midshipmen. 
These little minions of power ordered and drove 
me round like a dog, nor did I and the other boys 
dare interpose a word. They were officers ; their 
word was our law, and wo betide the presump- 
tuous boy that dared refuse implicit obedience. 

These things reminded me of what had been 
said to me of the hardships of sea life in a man 
4 



38 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

of war. I began to wish myself back in my 
father's house at Bladen. This, however, was 
impossible, and to add to my discouragement they 
told me I was entered on the ship's books for life. 
Dreary prospect ! I felt more than half disposed, 
as I went to my tasks, to use the language of the 
Irishman, as sung by my shipmates. Tempted and 
beguiled while intoxicated, he had enlisted for a 
soldier, but found the sergeant at the recruiting 
office and the sergeant on the drill-field very dif- 
ferent personages. He is hence made to say, 

"It was early next morning to drill I was sent, 
And its och to my soul ! I began to lament ; 
Cannot you be aisy and let me alone ? 
Don't you see I 've got arms, legs, and feet of my own ? ,y 

But although somewhat grieved with my first 
experience of sailor life, I secretly struggled 
against my feelings, and with the most philo- 
sophic desperation resolved to make the best of 
my condition. We were kept busily at work 
every day until the ship's stores were all on 
board, and our frigate was ready for sea. Then 
two hundred more men, draughted from receiving 
ships, came on board, to complete the number of 
our crew, which, after this addition, numbered 
full three hundred men. The jocularity, pleas- 
antry, humor and good feeling that now prevailed 
on board our frigate, somewhat softened the un- 
pleasantness of my lot, and cultivated a feeling of 
reconciliation to my circumstances. Various little 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 



39 



friendships, which sprang up between me and my 
shipmates, threw a gleam of gladness across my 
path ; a habit of attention, respect and obedience 
in a short time secured me universal good will. I 
began to be tolerably satisfied. 

Many boys complain of ill usage at sea. I 
know they are subjected to it in many instances ; 
yet, in most cases, they owe it to their own bold- 
ness. A boy on shipboard, who is habitually 
saucy, will be kicked and cuffed by all with whom 
he has to do ; he will be made miserable. The 
reason is, I imagine, that sailors, being treated as 
inferiors themselves, love to find opportunity to 
act the superior over some one. They do this 
over the boys, and if they find a saucy, insolent 
one, they show him no mercy. Permit me, then, 
to advise boys who go to sea, to be civil and oblig- 
ing to all; they will be amply repaid for the effort 
it may cost them to make the trial, especially if 
they gain the reputation, as I did, of being among 
the best boys in the ship. 

A vessel of war contains a little community of 
human beings, isolated, for the time being, from 
the rest of mankind. This community is governed 
by laws peculiar to itself; it is arranged and di- 
vided in a manner suitable to its circumstances. 
Hence, when its members first come together, 
each one is assigned his respective station and 
duty. For every task, from getting up the anchor 
to unbending the sails, aloft and below, at the 
mess-tub or in the hammock, each task has its 



40 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

man, and each man his place. A ship contains a 
set of human machinery, in which every man is a 
wheel, a band, or a crank, all moving with won- 
derful regularity and precision to the will of its 
machinist — the all-powerful captain. 

The men are distributed in all parts of the ves- 
sel; those in the tops are called fore-top-men, 
main-top-men, and mizzen-top-men, with two cap- 
tains to each top, one for each watch. These top- 
men have to loose, take in, reef and furl the 
sails aloft, such as the top-gallant sails, top-sails, 
top-gallant royal, and top-sail studding-sails. Oth- 
ers are called forecastle men, waisters, and the 
after-guard ; these have to loose, tend, and furl 
the courses, that is, the fore-sail, the main-sail, and 
lower studding-sails ; they also have to set the 
jib, flying-jib, and spanker; the after-guard have 
a special charge to coil up all ropes in the after 
part of the ship. Others are called scavengers; 
these, as their not very attractive name imports, 
have to sweep and pick up the dirt that may 
chance to gather through the day, and throw it 
overboard. Then come the boys, who are mostly 
employed as servants to the officers. Our cap- 
tain had a steward and a boy ; these acted as his 
domestic servants in his large and stately cabin, 
which, to meet the ideas of landsmen, may be 
called his house. The lieutenants, purser, surgeon, 
and sailing-master, had each a boy ; they, together 
with the two lieutenants of marines, who were 
waited upon by two marines, form what is called 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 41 

the ward-room officers. The ward-room is a large 
cabin, (I mean large for a ship, of course,) below 
the captain's, where they all mess together ; aft 
of this cabin is a smaller one, which serves as a 
species of store-room. Besides these accommo- 
dations, every ward-room officer has his state- 
room, containing his cot, wash-stand, writing- 
desk, clothes, &c. The gunner, boatswain, and 
some others, are also allowed a boy ; and a man 
and boy are appointed to be the servants of a cer- 
tain number of midshipmen. 

Another arrangement is, that of forming the 
ship's company into watches. The captain, first 
lieutenant, surgeon, purser, boatswain, gunner, 
carpenter, armorer, together with the stewards 
and boys, are excused from belonging to them, 
but are liable to be called out to take in sail; 
some of the last mentioned are called idlers. All 
others are in watches, called the larboard and 
starboard watches. 

Stations are also assigned at the guns, to the 
whole crew. When at sea, the drummer beats to 
quarters every night. This beat, by which the 
men are summoned to quarters, is a regular tune. 
I have often heard the words sung which belong 
to it ; this is the chorus : 

"Hearts of oak are our ships, jolly tars are our men, 
"We always are ready, steady, boys, steady, 
To fight and to conquer again and again." 

At the roll of this evening drum, all hands hurry 
to the guns. Eight men and a bov are stationed 
4* 



42 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

at each gun, one of whom is captain of the gun 
another sponges and loads it, the rest take hold 
of the side tackle-falls, to run the gun in and 
out ; while the boy is employed in handing the 
cartridges, for which he is honored with the sin- 
gularly euphonious cognomen of powder-monkey. 

Besides these arrangements among the men, 
there are from thirty to forty marines to be dis- 
posed of. These do duty as sentries at the cap- 
tain's cabin, the ward-room, and at the galley 
during the time of cooking. They are also sta- 
tioned at the large guns at night, as far as their 
numbers run. When a ship is in action, and 
small arms can be brought to bear on the enemy, 
they are stationed on the spar-deck ; they are also 
expected to assist in boarding, in conjunction with 
several seamen from each gun, who are armed 
with pistols and pikes, and called boarders. 

The great disparity of numbers between the 
crew of a merchant ship and that of a man of war, 
occasions a difference in their internal arrange- 
ments and mode of life, scarcely conceivable by 
those who have not seen both. This is seen 
throughout, from the act of rousing the hands in 
the morning to that of taking in sail. In the 
merchantman, the watch below is called up by a 
few strokes of the handspike on the forecastle ; 
in the man of war, by the boatswain and his 
mates. The boatswain is a petty officer, of con- 
siderable importance in his way; he and his 
mates carry a small silver whistle or pipe, sus- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 43 

periled from the neck by a small cord. He 
receives word from the officer of the watch to call 
the hands up. You immediately hear a sharp, 
shrill whistle ; this is succeeded by another and 
another from his mates. Then follows his hoarse, 
rough cry of "All hands ahoy ! " which is forth- 
with repeated by his mates. Scarcely has this 
sound died upon the ear, before the cry of "Up all 
hammocks ahoy ! " succeeds it, to be repeated in 
like manner. As the first tones of the whistle 
penetrate between decks, signs of life make their 
appearance. Rough, uncouth forms are seen 
tumbling out of their hammocks on all sides, and 
before its last sounds have died upon the air, the 
whole company of sleepers are hurriedly prepar- 
ing for the duties of the day. No delay is per- 
mitted, for as soon as the before-mentioned officers 
have uttered their imperative commands, they run 
below, each armed with a rope's-end, with which 
they belabor the shoulders of any luckless wight 
upon whose eyes sleep yet hangs heavily, or 
whose slow-moving limbs show him to be but 
half awake. 

With a rapidity which would surprise a lands- 
man, the crew dress themselves, lash their ham- 
mocks and carry them on deck, where they are 
stowed for the day. There is system even in this 
arrangement ; every hammock has its appropriate 
place. Below, the beams are all marked ; each 
hammock is marked with a corresponding num- 
ber, and in the darkest night, a sailor will go 



44 A VOICE FROM ?HE MAIN DECK. 

unhesitatingly to his own hammock. They are 
also kept exceeding clean. Every man is pro- 
vided with two, so that while he is scrubbing and 
cleaning one, he may have another to use. No- 
thing but such precautions could enable so many 
men to live in so small a space. 

A similar rapidity attends the performance of 
every duty. The word of command is given in 
the same manner, and its prompt obedience en- 
forced by the same unceremonious rope's-end. 
To skulk is therefore next to impossible ; the 
least tardiness is rebuked by the cry of " Hurrah 
my hearty ! bear a hand ! heave along ! heave 
along ! " This system of driving is far from being 
agreeable ; it perpetually reminds you of your 
want of liberty ; it makes you feel, sometimes, as 
if the hardest crust, the most ragged garments, 
with the freedom of your own native hills, would 
be preferable to John Bull's "beef and duff," 
joined as it is with the rope's-end of the driving 
boatswain. 

We had one poor fellow, an Irishman, named 
Billy Garvy, who felt very uneasy and unhappy. 
He was the victim of that mortifying system of 
impressment, prevalent in Great Britain in time 
of war. He came on board perfectly unacquainted 
with the mysteries of sea life. One of his first 
inquiries was, where he should find his bed, sup- 
posing they slept on shipboard on beds the same 
as on shore. His messmates, with true sailor 
roguishness, sent him to the boatswain. " And 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 4.5 

where shall I find a bed, sir?" asked he of this 
rugged son of the ocean. 

The boatswain looked at him very contemptu- 
ously for a moment, then, rolling his lump of 
tobacco into another apartment of his ample 
mouth, replied, 

" Have you got a knife ? " 

" Yes, sir." 

"Well, stick it into the softest plank in the 
ship, and take that for a bed ! " 

Poor fellow ! what was sport for others was 
pain to him. He had been used to kind treat- 
ment at home. After he had received his ham- 
mock, when turning out in the morning, with the 
boatswain's mates at his heels, he used to exclaim, 
" When I was at home, I would walk in my 
father's garden in the morning, until the maid 
would come and say, ' William, will you come to 
your ta, or your coffee ta, or your chocolarata ? ' 
But oh ! the case is altered now ; it 's nothing but 
bear a hand, lash and carry. Oh dear ! " 

I confess that Billy Garvy was not the only 
one who contrasted the present with the past, or 
who found the balance to be greatly in favor of 
the former. I often looked back to the village of 
Bladen, and thought how preferable would be the 
bright hearth-side and pleasant voices of that quiet 
home, to the profane, rough, uncomfortable life 
we led on shipboard. As these reflections were 
anything but pleasurable, I banished them as 
quickly as possible, with a determination to be as 



46 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

happy as I could in my station of servant to the 
surgeon of His Brittanic Majesty's frigate Mace- 
donian : a resolution which I commend to all 
lads, who, like me, are foolish enough to quit the 
quiet scenes of a native village, for the noisy, pro- 
fane atmosphere of a man of war. 

As our fare was novel and so different from 
shore living, it was some time before I could get 
fully reconciled to it : it was composed of hard 
sea biscuit, fresh beef while in port, but salt pork 
and salt beef at sea, pea soup and burgoo. Bur- 
goo, or, as it was sportively called, skillagallee, was 
oatmeal boiled in water to the consistency of hasty 
pudding. Sometimes we had cocoa instead of 
burgoo. Once a week we had flour and raisins 
served out, with which we made " duff" or pud- 
ding. To prepare these articles, each mess had 
its cook, who drew the provisions, made the duff, 
washed the mess kids, &c. He also drew the 
grog for the mess, which consisted of a gill of 
rum mixed with two gills of water for each man. 
This was served out at noon every day : at four 
o'clock, P. M., each man received half a pint of 
wine. The boys only drew half this quantity, 
but were allowed pay for the remainder, a regula- 
tion which could have been profitably applied to 
the whole supply of grog and wine for both boys 
and men. But those were not days in which 
Temperance triumphed as she does now ; though, 
I believe, the British navy has not yet ceased to 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR, 47 

dispense the "drink that's in the drunkard's 
bowl " to her seamen. 

Shortly after our captain came on board, his 
servant died somewhat suddenly, so that I had an 
early opportunity of seeing how sailors are dis- 
posed of in this sad hour. The corpse was laid 
out on the grating, covered with a flag; as we 
were yet in the river, the body was taken on shore 
and buried, without the beautiful burial-service of 
the church of England being read at his grave — 
a ceremony which is not omitted at the interment 
of the veriest pauper in that country. 

I have purposely dwelt on these particulars, that 
the reader may feel himself initiated at once into 
the secrets of man-of-war usages. He has doubt- 
less seen ships of war with their trim rigging 
and frowning ports, and his heart has swelled with 
pride as he has gazed upon these floating cities — ■ 
the representatives of his nation's character in 
foreign countries : to their internal arrangements, 
however, he has been a stranger. I have endeav- 
ored to introduce him into the interior : a desire 
to make him feel at home there, is my apology for 
dwelling so long on these descriptions. 

After various delays, we were at last ready for 
sea and under sailing orders. The tide and wind 
were both propitious ; then came the long-expected 
cry of the boatswain, " All hands up anchor 
ahoy ! " The crew manned the capstan in a trice, 
and running round to the tune of a lively air 
played by the fifer, the huge anchor rapidly left 



48 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

the mud of the Thames, and hung at the bows of 
our taut frigate. Then came the cry of " All 
hands make sail ahoy ! " As if by magic, she 
was immediately covered with canvass ; the favor- 
ing breeze at once filled our sails, and the form 
that had lain for weeks inert and motionless on 
the waters, now bounded along the waves like a 
thing of life. Rapidly we ran down the channel, 
and before we had well got under weigh came to 
an anchor again at Spithead, under shelter of the 
garden of England — the Isle of Wight. 

Short as was the period between weighing 
anchor off Gravesend and our arrival at Spithead, 
it gave opportunity for one of those occurrences 
which are a disgrace to the naval service of any 
nation, and a degradation to our common human- 
ity, which the public opinion of the civilized world 
should frown out of existence : I allude to the 
brutal practice of flogging. 

A poor fellow had fallen into the very sailor- 
like offence of getting drunk. For this the captain 
sentenced him to the punishment of four dozen 
lashes. He was first placed in irons all night : 
the irons used for this purpose were shackles 
fitting round the ankles, through the ends of 
which was passed an iron bar some ten or twelve 
feet it length : it was thus long because it was no 
unfrequent case for half a dozen men to be ironed 
at once. A padlock at the end of the bar held 
the prisoner securely. Thus placed in " duress 
vile," he was guarded by a marine until the cap- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 49 

tain bade the first lieutenant prepare the hands to 
witness the punishment, Upon this the lieuten- 
ant transmitted the order to the master at arms. 
He then ordered the grating or hatch full of square 
holes to be rigged : it was placed accordingly be- 
tween the main and spar decks, not far from the 
mainmast. 

While these preparations were going on, the 
officers were dressing themselves in full uniform 
and arming themselves with their dirks : the 
prisoner's messmates carried him his best clothes, 
to make him appear in as decent a manner as 
possible. This is always done, in the hope of 
moving the feelings of the captain favorably 
towards the prisoner. 

This done, the hoarse, dreaded cry of " All 
hands ahoy to witness punishment!" from the 
lips of the boatswain, peals along the ship as 
mournfully as the notes of a funeral knell. At 
this signal the officers muster on the spar deck, 
the men on the main deck. Next came the pris- 
oner ; guarded by a marine on one side and the 
master at arms on the other, he was marched up 
to the grating. His back was made bare and his 
shirt laid loosely upon his back ; the two quarter- 
masters proceeded to seize him up; that is, they 
tied his hands and feet with spun-yarns, called 
the seizings, to the grating. The boatswain's 
mates, whose office it is to flog on board a man of 
war, stood ready with their dreadful weapon of 
punishment, the cat-o'-nine-tails. This instru- 



50 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

merit of torture was composed of nine cords, a 
quarter of an inch round and about two feet long, 
the ends whipt with fine twine. To these cords 
was affixed a stock, two feet in length, covered 
with red baize. The reader may be sure that it is 
a most formidable instrument in the hands of a 
strong, skilful man. Indeed, any man who should 
whip his horse with it would commit an outrage 
on humanity, which the moral feeling of any com- 
munity would not tolerate ; he would be prosecu- 
ted for cruelty ; yet it is used to whip men on 
board ships of war ! 

The boatswain's mate is ready, with coat off 
and whip in hand. The captain gives the word. 
Carefully spreading the cords with the fingers of 
his left hand, the executioner throws the cat over 
his right shoulder ; it is brought down upon the 
now uncovered herculean shoulders of the man. 
His flesh creeps — it reddens as if blushing at the 
indignity ; the sufferer groans ; lash follows lash, 
until the first mate, wearied with the cruel em- 
ployment, gives place to a second. Now two 
dozen of these dreadful lashes have been inflicted : 
the lacerated back looks inhuman; it resembles 
roasted meat burnt nearly black before a scorching 
fire ; yet still the lashes fall ; the captain con- 
tinues merciless. Vain are the cries and prayers 
of the wretched man. " 1 would not forgive the 
Saviour," was the blasphemous reply of one of 
these naval demi-gods, or rather demi-fiends, to a 
j)lea for mercy. The executioners keep on. Four 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 51 

dozen strokes have cut up his flesh and robbed 
him of all self-respect ; there he hangs, a pitied, 
self-despised, groaning, bleeding wretch ; and now 
the captain cries, forbear ! His shirt is thrown 
over his shoulders ; the seizings are loosed ; he is 
led away, staining his path with red drops of 
blood, and the hands, "piped down" by the boat- 
swain, sullenly return to their duties. 

Such was the scene witnessed on board the 
Macedonian, on the passage from London to Spit- 
head ; such, substantially, is every punishment 
scene at sea ; only carried, sometimes, to a greater 
length of severity. Sad and sorrowful were my 
feelings on witnessing it ; thoughts of the friendly 
warnings of my old acquaintance filled my mind, 
and I inwardly wished myself once more under 
the friendly roof of my father, at Bladen. Vain 
wish ! I should have believed the warning voice 
when it was given. Believe me, young man, 
you will often breathe that wish, if ever you 
wander from a father's house. 

Flogging in the navy is more severe than in 
the army, though it is too bad to be tolerated 
there, or indeed anywhere. Other modes of 
punishment might be successfully substituted, 
which would deter from misconduct, without de- 
stroying the self-respect of the man. I hope the 
day will come, when a captain will no more be 
allowed to use the " cat " than he is now to use 
poison. It should be an interdicted weapon. 

Though I have spoken severely of the officers 



52 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

of the navy, let it not be thought that the whole 
class of naval officers are lost to the finer feelings 
of humanity. There are many humane, consid- 
erate men among them, who deserve our highest 
respect This was the case with the first lieuten- 
ant of the Macedonian, Mr. Scott. He abhorred 
flogging. Once, when a poor marine was under 
sentence, he plead hard and successfully with the 
captain for his respite. This was a great victory ; 
for the captain had a profound hatred of marines. 
The poor soldier was extremely grateful for his 
intercession, and would do anything for him to 
show his sense of the obligation ; indeed, the 
sailors, in their odd way, showed their preference 
for him by describing him as a man who had a 
soul to be saved, and who ought to go to heaven ; 
while of the captain, they whispered that if he 
did not go to perdition, " the devil would be 
cheated of his due." These are, in a manner, 
proverbial expressions of like and dislike, on 
board a British man of war. 

One of the effects of this exhibition of cruelty 
was seen during the short time we lay at Spit- 
head. The two boys, who were servants to the 
first and second lieutenants, conceiving a special 
dislike to the idea of being flogged, took it into 
their heads to run away. Being sent on shore, 
they shaped their course for the country. It was 
well for them that they were not retaken. 

Our frigate had orders to convey between two 
and three hundred troops from Portsmouth to 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 53 

Lisbon, to assist the Portuguese against the 
French. The soldiers were stowe'd on the main 
decks, with very few conveniences for the voyage ; 
their officers messed and berthed in the ward- 
room. Having taken them on board, we again 
weighed anchor, and were soon careering before 
the breeze on our way to Lisbon. 

As usual, we who were landsmen had our 
share of that merciless, nondescript, hateful, stul- 
tifying disease, ycleped sea-sickness ; as usual, 
we wished the foolish wish that we had never 
come to sea ; as usual, we got over it, and laughed 
at ourselves for our sea-sick follies. Our good 
ship paid little attention, however, to our feelings ; 
she kept along on her bounding way, and, after a 
week at sea, we were greeted with the pleasant 
cry of " Land ho ! " from the mast-head. As it was 
now near night, we lay off and on until morning ; 
at day-break we fired a gun for a pilot. The 
wind being nearly dead ahead, we had to beat 
about nearly all day. Towards night it became 
fair, and we ascended the Tagus. This river is 
about nine miles wide at its mouth, and is four 
hundred and fifty miles in length ; it has a very 
rapid current, with steep, fertile banks. Aided 
by a fine breeze, we ascended it in splendid 
style, passed a half-moon battery, then shot past 
Belem Castle into the port of Lisbon, about ten 
miles from its mouth. Here we found a spacious 
harbor, filled with shipping. Besides numerous 
merchantmen, there were two ships of a hundred 
5* 



54 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

guns, several seventy-fours, frigates and sloops of 
war, with a large number of transports ; all de- 
signed for the defence of Lisbon against the 
French. 

Lisbon has a fine appearance from the harbor. 
A stranger, after a long sea-voyage, while stand- 
ing on the deck of his vessel, and gazing on its 
battlements and towers, might fency it to be a 
terrestrial paradise ; but, on landing, his admira- 
tion would certainly sink below zero, as he plod- 
ded his way, beset by saucy beggars at almost 
every step, through its narrow, filthy streets. 
Such, at least, was my impression, as I perambu- 
lated the city. Among other things, I noticed a 
great variety of churches and convents, which 
furnished swarms of plump, good-natured friars, 
under whose spiritual domination the good people 
of Lisbon were content to rest. I also counted 
thirteen large squares. One of them contained 
a huge black horse, standing in its centre, with 
the figure of a man upon his back, both much 
larger than life. What this monument repre- 
sented, I did not learn. That square is denomi- 
nated Black Horse Square. 

On the day after our arrival, the Macedonian 
was the scene of considerable bustle. The troops, 
who seemed to forget their proximity to a field 
of carnage, in the delight they felt at escaping 
from the confinement on shipboard, were landed ; 
several boats' crews were also sent up the river to 
assist in the defence of the place. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 55 

While we lay here, our ship was well sup- 
plied with fruits from the shore. Large hunches 
of delicious grapes, abundance of sweet oranges 3 
water-melons, chestnuts, and also a bountiful sup- 
ply of gigantic onions, of peculiar flavor, enabled 
our crew to gratify their palates in true English 
style. Poor fellows ! they feasted, laughed, and 
joked, as if the future had nothing to develop 
but fairy scenes of unmixed delight. Little 
thought, indeed, does your true tar take of the 
morrow. 

Amid these feastings, however, there rose some- 
thing to trouble Macbeth, in the shape of an order 
from the admiral to prepare for a cruise. This 
was peremptory ; — for a cruise therefore we pre- 
pared. Our boats' crews came on board; the 
officers stored their larder with the means of 
gustatory gratifications ; and we stood out to sea 
again. 

The port of Corunna, in Spam, was the next 
place at which we anchored. While lying in this 
spacious and safe harbor, our little world was 
thrown into temporary confusion by the loss of 
the ward-room steward, Mr. Sanders. This man 
could speak in the Spanish tongue ; he had accu- 
mulated a considerable sum of money by long 
service, prize money, and an economy little known 
among sailors. For some cause or other he had 
become dissatisfied ; so, one day, he engaged a 
Spaniard to run his boat under the stern of our 
frigate ; dropping from one of the stern ports into 



|f6 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK* 

the boat, unperceived by the officers, the wily 
Spaniards covered him with their loose garments 
and sails, and then conveyed him to the shore. 
This was running a great risk ; for had he been 
detected in the act, or taken afterwards, he would 
have felt the cruel strokes of the lash. Fortu- 
nately for himself, he escaped without detection. 

From Corunna, we returned to Lisbon, where, 
at the cheerful cry of " All hands bring the ship 
to an anchor, ahoy ! " we once more placed our 
frigate, taut and trim, under the battlements of 
the city. 

As servant to the surgeon, it was one part of 
my duty to perform the task of carrying his 
clothes to be washed. As great attention to 
cleanliness, in frequently changing their linen, is 
observed among naval officers, a good washerwo- 
man is considered quite a desideratum. In attend- 
ing to this matter for my master, I had frequent 
opportunities to go on shore. This gave me 
some means of observation. On one of my visits 
to our pretty laundress, I saw several Portu- 
guese running along, gesticulating and talking 
with great earnestness. Being ignorant of their 
language, my washerwoman, who spoke good 
English, told me that a man had been stabbed, 
in consequence of some ground for jealousy, 
afforded by the conduct of the deceased. Hast- 
ening to the spot, I saw the wounded man, 
stretched out on a bed, with two gaping wounds 
in his side — the long knife, the instrument of the 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 57 

deed, lying by his side. The poor sufferer soon 
died. What was done to the murderer, I could 
not discover. 

Though very passionate, and addicted to the 
use of the knife, for the purpose of taking sum- 
mary vengeance, the Portuguese are nevertheless 
arrant cowards. Indeed, it is a question by no 
means settled, whether all classes of men, in any 
country, who fly to cold steel or to fire-arms 
in every petty quarrel, are not cowards at heart. 
We had an evidence of Portuguese cowardice in 
an affray which occurred between some of the 
citizens of Lisbon and a party of our marines. 
Six of the latter, ignorant of the palace or mu- 
nicipal regulations, wandered into the queen's 
gardens. Some twenty of the Portuguese, on 
witnessing this bold intrusion on the privacy of 
the queen, rushed upon them with long knives. 
The marines, though so inferior in number, faced 
about with their bayonets, and, after much cursing 
and chattering, their enemies, considering perhaps 
that the better part of valor is discretion, took to 
their heels, leaving the six marines masters of a 
bloodless field. These rencontres were quite 
common between them and our men ; the result, 
though sometimes more serious, was uniformly 
the same. 

As an illustration of the manners of this peo- 
ple, I cannot forbear the insertion of another fact. 
I was one day walking leisurely along the streets, 
quite at my ease, when the gathering of a noisy 



•58 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

multitude arrested my attention. Looking up, I 
was shocked at seeing a human head, with a pair 
of hands beneath it, nailed to a pole ! They had 
just been taken from the body of a barber, who, 
when in the act of shaving a gentleman, was seized 
with a sudden desire to possess a beautiful watch, 
which glittered in his pocket ; to gain this brilliant 
bauble, the wretched man cut his victim's throat. 
He was arrested, his hands were cut off, then his 
head, and both were fastened to the pole as I 
have described them. Upon inquiry, I ascertained 
that this was the ordinary method of punishing 
murder in Portugal ; a striking evidence that civ- 
ilization had not fully completed its great work 
among them. Civilization humanizes the feelings 
of society, throwing a veil of refinement and mercy 
over even the sterner acts of justice ; at any rate, 
it never tolerates such barbarism as I saw at 
Lisbon. 

While in port we experienced a change of offi- 
cers by no means agreeable to the crew. Mr. 
Scott, our first lieutenant, an amiable man, de- 
cidedly hostile to the practice of flogging, left us ; 
for what cause, we could not ascertain. His suc- 
cessor, Mr. Hope, though bearing a very pleasant 
name, was an entirely different person, in manners 
and conduct, from his predecessor. He was harsh, 
severe, and fond of seeing the men flogged. Of 
course, floggings became more frequent than be- 
fore ; for, although a lieutenant cannot flog upon his 
own authority, yet, such is the influence he exerts 



SIX YEARS IN A B1AN OF WAE, 59 

over a captain, that he has the utmost opportunity 
to gratify a thirst for punishment. It may appear 
strange to the reader that any gentleman — and all 
officers of the navy consider themselves gentlemen 
— -should possess such a thirst ; yet such was the 
case with Mr. Hope. Nor was his a solitary exam- 
ple ; many a man, who, on shore, in presence of 
ladies of fashion, appeared too gentle to harm an 
enemy, too kind to injure an insect, was strangely 
metamorphosed into a genuine unprincipled tyrant,, 
upon assuming command in a man of war. 

We had already witnessed a number of punish- 
ments, especially at sea : in port, the officers were 
more condescending, lest their men should desert ; 
but at sea, when this was impossible, they flogged 
without mercy. Cases of offence which occurred 
while in the harbor, were looked up ; sometimes a 
half dozen were flogged at once ; every man trem- 
bled lest he should be a victim ; the ship's crew 
were made wretched ; a sword seemed impending 
over every head. Who, in such a case, could be 
happy ? Not even a sailor, with all his habitual 
thoughtlessness. Yet it is said we must flog, to 
maintain discipline among sailors. Pshaw ! Flog- 
ging may be needful to awe a slave writhing un- 
der a sense of unmerited wrong, but never should a 
lash fall on a freeman's back, especially if he holds 
the safety and honor of his country in his keeping. 

Poor old Bob Hammond ! Never was man 
more reckless than this honest-hearted Irishman ; 
never was sailor more courageous under punish- 



60 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

merit. For being drunk he received four dozen 
lashes ; he bore the infliction with profound silence, 
uttering neither groan nor sigh ; neither casting 
one imploring look at his tormentors. On being 
taken down, he applied himself most lustily to his 
bottle, and before night was drunk again. Rush- 
ing to the quarter deck, with a madness peculiar 
to a phrensied drunkard, he ran up against the 
captain with such force thet he nearly knocked 
him down. With a boldness that seemed to strike 
the great man dumb, Bob hiccupped and said, 

" Halloo, Billy, my boy, is that you ? You are 
young and foolish ; just fit for the launch. You 
are like a young lion — all your sorrows are to 
come." 

The captain was excessively proud; even his 
officers scarcely dared walk the quarter deck on 
the same side with him. He never allowed him- 
self to be addressed but by his title of " my Lord." 
Should a sailor, through design or forgetfulness, 
reply to a command, " Yes, sir," the lordly man 
would look at him with a glance full of dignity, 
and sternly reply, " What, sir ? " This, of course, 
would put the offender in mind to correct himself 
by saying, "Yes, my Lord." Judge then of his 
surprise, indignation, nay, of his lordly horror, 
when poor old drunken Bob Hammond called 
him "Billy, my boy!" Doubtless it stirred up 
his nobility within him, for, with a voice of thun- 
der, he exclaimed, " Put this man in irons ! " It 
was done. The next morning, his back yet sore, 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 61 

poor Bob received five dozen more strokes of the 
hated cat-o'-nine-tails. Most heroically was it 
borne. No sound escaped him; the most pro- 
found silence was observed by all, broken only by 
the dead sound of the whip, as it fell every few 
moments on the wounded back. The scene was 
sickening in the extreme. Let me throw a veil 
over its details, simply remarking that it is ques- 
tionable which of the two appears to the best ad- 
vantage ; poor drunken Bob, suffering degrading 
torture with heroic firmness, or my Lord Fitzroy 7 
gloating on the scene with the appetite of a vul- 
ture ! Let the reader decide for himself. 

These statements may at first sight appear 
incredible. It may be asked how a man could 
endure whippings which would destroy an ox or 
a horse. This is a very natural question, and 
but for the consciousness I feel of being supported 
in my statements by the universal testimony of 
old men-of-war's-men, I should hesitate to publish 
them. The worst species of this odious torture, 
however, remains to be described — flogging through 
the fleet. 

This punishment is never inflicted without due 
trial and sentence by a court-martial, for some 
aggravated offence. After the offender is thus 
sentenced, and the day arrives appointed by his 
judges for its execution, the unhappy wretch is 
conducted into the ship's launch — a large boat — 
which has been previously rigged up with poles 
and grating, to which he is seized up; he is 
6 



62 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

attended by the ship's surgeon, whose duty it is 
to decide when the power of nature's endurance 
has been taxed to its utmost. A boat from every 
ship in the fleet is also present, each carrying one 
or two officers and two marines fully armed. 
These boats are connected by tow lines to the 
launch. 

These preparations made, the crew of the vic- 
tim's ship are ordered to man the rigging, while 
the boatswain commences the tragedy. When he 
has administered one, two or three dozen lashes, 
according to the number of ships in the fleet, the 
prisoner's shirt is thrown over his gory back ; the 
boatswain returns on board, the hands are piped 
down, the drummer beats a mournful melody, 
called the rogue's march, and the melancholy pro- 
cession moves on. Arriving at the side of another 
ship, the brutal scene is repeated, until every crew 
in the fleet has witnessed it, and from one to three 
hundred lashes have lacerated the back of the 
broken-spirited tar to a bleeding pulp. He is then 
placed under the surgeon's care, to be fitted for 
duty — a ruined man — broken in spirit ! all sense 
of self-respect gone, forever gone ! If he survive, 
it is only to be like his own brave bark, when 
winds and waves conspire to dash her on the 
pitiless strand, a wretched, hopeless wreck; a 
living, walking shadow of his former self. Shame- 
ful blot! most foul and disgraceful stain on the 
humanity of England! How long before this 
worse than barbarism will disappear before the 
mild influences of civilization and Christianity 2 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 63 

No plea of necessity can be successfully urged 
in behalf of whipping men ; for, if subordination 
or faithful adhesion to orders is expected to follow 
such terrible examples, I know, from my acquaint- 
ance with the sufferers themselves, that the ex- 
pectation is vain. One of two results always 
follows. The victim either lives on, a lone, dark- 
minded, broken-spirited man, despising himself 
and hating every one, because he thinks every 
one hates him ; or he lives with one fearful, un- 
yielding purpose ; a purpose on which he feeds 
and nourishes his galled mind, as food affords life 
and energy to his physical constitution — that pur- 
pose is revenge. I have heard them swear — and 
the wild flashing eye, the darkly frowning brow, 
told how firm was that intent — that if ever they 
should be in battle, they would shoot their officers. 
I have seen them rejoice over the misfortunes of 
their persecutors, but more especially at their 
death. That it has frequently led to mutiny, is 
well verified. I have known such severity to 
result in actual murder. While we lay at Lisbon, 
a sergeant of marines, on board a seventy-four, 
made himself obnoxious by repeated acts of tyran- 
ny. Two marines determined upon his death. 
One night, unperceived by any, they seized him, 
hurried him to the gangway, and pitched him 
overboard. The tide was running strong; the 
man was drowned ! But for themselves his fate 
would have remained a secret until the great day 
of judgment ; it was discovered by an officer, who 



64 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

accidentally overheard them congratulating each 
other on their achievement. He betrayed them. 
A court-martial sentenced them. They were 
placed on deck with halters on their necks. Two 
guns were fired, and, when the smoke cleared 
away, two men were seen dangling from the fore- 
yard-arm. Only one day previous, a letter had 
brought a discharge from the service for one of 
them. Poor fellow! it came too late. He was 
fated to a summary discharge from all service, in 
a manner appalling and repulsive to every finer 
human feeling. 

Such are the actual consequences of severity of 
discipline on board men of war. Punishment 
leads to revenge ; revenge to punishment. What 
is intended to cure, only aggravates the disease : 
the evil enlarges under the remedy; voluntary 
subordination ceases ; gloom overspreads the crew ; 
fear fills the breasts of the officers ; the ship be- 
comes a miniature of the house of fiends. While, 
on the other hand, mild regulations, enforced 
without an appeal to brute force, are easily carried 
into operation. The sailor has a warm heart; 
show him personal kindness, treat him as a man, 
he will then be a man ; he will do anything for a 
kind officer. He will peril his life for him ; nay, 
he will cheerfully rush between him and danger. 
This was done at Tripoli, when the brave James 
offered his own arm to receive the fell stroke of a 
Turkish scimitar, aimed at the life of the bold 
Decatur, on board the frigate Philadelphia. Let 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 65 

naval officers, let all ship-masters, once fairly test 
the effect of kind treatment, and I am sure they 
will never desire to return to severity; unless, 
indeed, they are tyrants at heart, in which case, the 
sooner they lose their commands the better for 
their country; for no tyrant is truly brave or 
trustworthy. Cowardice and meanness lie curled 
up in the heart of every tyrant. He is too des- 
picable, too unsafe to be trusted with the responsi- 
bilities of a naval command. Such, at least, is the 
opinion of an old sailor. 

One of the greatest enemies to order and hap- 
piness in ships of war is drunkenness. To be 
drunk is considered by almost every sailor as the 
acme of sensual bliss ; while many fancy that 
swearing and drinking are necessary accomplish- 
ments in a genuine man-of-war's-man. Hence 
it almost universally prevails. In our ship the 
men would get drunk, in defiance of every restric- 
tion. Were it not for the moral and physical ruin 
which follows its use, one might laugh at the 
various contrivances adopted to elude the vigilance 
of officers in their efforts to procure rum. Some 
of our men who belonged to the boats' crews pro- 
vided themselves with bladders ; if left ashore by 
their officers a few moments, they would slip into 
the first grocery, fill their bladders, and return 
with the spoil. Once by the ship's side, the 
favorable moment was seized to pass the inter- 
dicted bladders into the port-holes, to some watch- 
ful shipmate, by whom it was carefully secreted, 
6* 



68 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

to be drunk at the first opportunity. The liberty 
to go on shore, which is always granted while in 
port, was sure to be abused for drunken purposes. 
The Sabbath was also a day of sensuality. True, 
we sometimes had the semblance of religious ser- 
vices, when the men were summoned aft to hear 
the captain read the morning service from the 
church prayer-book ; but usually it was observed 
more as a day of revelry than of worship. But at 
Christmas our ship presented a scene such as I 
had never imagined. The men were permitted to 
have their " full swing." Drunkenness ruled the 
ship. Nearly every man, with most of the offi- 
cers, were in a state of beastly intoxication at 
night. Here, some were fighting, but were so 
insensibly drunk, they hardly knew whether they 
struck the guns or their opponents; yonder, a 
party were singing libidinous or bacchanalian 
songs, while all were laughing, cursing, swearing 
or hallooing; confusion reigned in glorious tri- 
umph ; it was the very chaos of humanity. Had 
we been at sea, a sudden gale of wind must have 
proved our destruction ; had we been exposed to 
a sudden attack from an enemy's vessel, we should 
have fallen an easy prey to the victor ; just as the 
poor Hessians, at Trenton, fell before the well- 
timed blow of the sage Washington, during the 
war of the revolution. 

Of all places, the labors of temperance men are 
most needed among sailors ; and I am glad to know 
that much has been accomplished among them 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 67 

already. From what I know of the sufferings and 
difficulties growing out of intemperance at sea, I 
most heartily desire to see a temperance flag float- 
ing at the mast-head of every ship in the world. 
When this is seen, sailors will be a happier class 
than ever they have yet been, from the time when 
the cautious Phenicians crept timidly round the 
shores of the Mediterranean, to the present day of 
bold and fearless navigation. 



CHAPTER III. 

An alarm — A bootless cruise — "Wreck — Quarrel between 
the captain and sailing-master— Its result — Change of 
commanders — Mr. Hope and the boys — Our men de- 
sert — Bloody Dick — Happy Jack — Attempted suicide — 
A negro runs away and is retaken — Good Friday in Lis- 
bon — A perplexity on shore — Narrow escape from be- 
ing flogged — The press-gang — Several Americans im- 
pressed — Another cruise — A terrible storm — Loss of a 
man — The author's sickness — Black Tom's death and 
burial — Another bare escape from flogging — Another 
change of commanders — Severity of Captain Carden's 
administration — A brutal sentence on an alleged thief — 
A man flogged through the fleet — Our drummer de- 
mands a court-martial — Its unpleasant termination — 
A question — Danger of attempting mutiny — Change in 
my situation — The captain's band — Order for a new 
cruise. 

Shortly after the Christmas debauch, men- 
tioned in the preceding chapter, news was brought 
to the admiral that nine French frigates were 
cruising on the Spanish coast : immediately, all 
was excitement, bustle, preparation through the 
fleet. The Hannibal and Northumberland, both 
seventy-four gun ships, the Csesar of eighty guns, 
called by the sailors the Old Bull-dog, a gun brig, 
and some others, I forget the names, and the 
Macedonian, were ordered to sail in pursuit of 
the French. This formidable force dropped down 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 69 

the river, every man composing it eagerly desiring 
to meet the enemy. The enterprise however was 
unsuccessful; after cruising in vain for several 
days, the admiral signalled the fleet to return. 
Before reaching port we fell in with a Scotch 
ship from Greenock, in a most perilous condition ; 
her masts and rudder were gone, while her numer- 
ous leaks were fast gaining on the labors of the 
already exhausted crew at the pumps. Finding 
it utterly impossible to save the vessel, we took 
off the crew ; and thus our cruise, though defeated 
in its main design, proved the means of rescuing 
several poor wretches from a watery grave. It is 
a question worthy of consideration, whether this 
was not a really higher result than if we had 
found and beaten the French, and had returned 
in a crippled state, leaving some hundreds killed 
and wounded. Humanity would answer, yea. 

So far as the effects of this cruise concerned 
our own little frigate, they were really quite seri- 
ous- We were reefing topsails one night, at sea, 
when the sailing-master, Mr. Lewis, in a fit of ill- 
humor, threatened to flog some of the men. The 
captain overheard him. Feeling himself hurt by 
this assumption of his own prerogative, he told 
Mr. Lewis that he was captain in that, ship, and 
it was his business to flog the men. Sharp words 
followed ; the captain was exasperated ; he ordered 
the sailing-master to- be put in irons. Here, how- 
ever, he exceeded his own power, for, though he 
might place the common sailor in irons, he might 



70 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

not do so by an officer with impunity. Accord- 
ingly, when we reached Lisbon, a court-martial 
sat on the case, which resulted in their both being 
broken or cashiered. 

This was a hard blow for Lord Fitzroy, and h: 
obviously felt it most keenly. It also cut off my 
expectations of being elevated to the quarter deck ; 
for, although I had never received any direct 
encouragement from his Lordship, yet I had 
always nourished the hope that ultimately he 
would keep the promise he made to my mother, 
and do something for my advancement. Now, 
however, my hopes were destroyed. I was 
doomed to the forecastle for life. 

Lord Fitzroy was succeeded by Captain Carson. 
He however was soon removed to make way for 
Captain Waldgrave, who proved to be far more 
severe than Fitzroy. He and Lieutenant Hope 
were kindred spirits : cruelty seemed to be their 
delight, for at the presence of culprits tied to the 
gratings, a gleam of savage animation stole over 
their faces. Punishment was now an almost 
every-day scene ; even the boys were not per- 
mitted to escape. A lad was appointed boatswain 
over them, and they were consigned to the care of 
Mr. Hope, who took especial delight in seeing 
them flogged. What a mean, dastardly spirit for 
a British officer ! How utterly contemptible he 
appears engaged in whipping a few helpless sailor 
boys ! Yet thus he did constantly appear, causing 
them to be flogged for every trifling offence. One 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 71 

poor little fellow, unable to tolerate the thought of 
the lash, hid himself in the cable tier for several 
days. He was discovered, only to be most shame- 
fully punished. 

These severities filled our crew with discour- 
agement. A sailor dreads the dishonor of the 
lash. Some, urged by a nice sense of honor, have 
preferred death to its endurance. I have heard of 
one man who actually loaded himself with shot 
and deliberately walked overboard. Among our 
ship's company the effects of these severe meas- 
ures showed themselves in frequent desertions, 
notwithstanding the great risk run by such a bold 
measure ; for, if taken, they were sure to meet 
with a fearful retribution Still, many preferred 
the chance of freedom ; some ran off when on 
shore with the boats, others dropped overboard 
in the night, and either swam on shore or were 
drowned. Many others were kept from running 
away by the strength of their attachment to their 
old messmates and by the hope of better days. 
Of those who escaped, some were retaken by the 
Portuguese, who delighted to hunt them up for a 
small sum of money. Two of my messmates, 
named Robert Bell and James Stokes, were taken 
in this manner. I felt greatly affected at losing 
their company, for they were pleasant fellows. I 
felt a peculiar attachment to poor Stokes ; he had 
taught me many things which appertain to sea- 
manship, and had cared for my interests with the 
faithfulness of a parent. how anxiously did I 



72 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

desire they might not be detected, because I knew, 
if they were, that they were doomed men. But 
they were taken by a band of armed Portuguese ; 
barefooted, desponding, broken in spirit, they were 
brought on board, only to be put in irons immedi- 
ately. By a fortunate chance they escaped with 
fifty lashes, instead of being flogged through the 
fleet. 

We had another man who escaped, named 
Richard Suttonwood ; he was very profane, and 
was much in the habit of using the word " bloody ;" 
hence he was nicknamed " Bloody Dick " by his 
shipmates. Well, Dick ran off. He succeeded 
in getting on board an English brig in the mer- 
chant service. But how chop-fallen was poor 
Dick when he found that this brig was laden with 
powder for his own frigate ! Resolving to make 
the best of the matter, he said nothing of his rela- 
tion to our frigate, but as soon as the brig dropped 
alongside of the Macedonian, he came on board 
and surrendered himself; by this means he es- 
caped being flogged, as it was usual to pardon a 
runaway who voluntarily returned to his duty. 
The crew were all delighted at his return, as he 
was quite popular among them for his lively dispo- 
sition and his talents as a comic singer, which last 
gift is always highly prized in a man of war. So 
joyous were we all at his escape from punishment, 
that we insisted on his giving a concert, which 
went off well. Seated on a gun surrounded by 
scores of the men, he sung a variety of favorite songs, 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 73 

amid the plaudits and encores of his rough audi- 
tors. 

By such means as these, sailors contrive to 
keep up their spirits amidst constant causes of 
depression and misery. One is a good singer, 
another can spin tough forecastle yarns, while a 
third can crack a joke with sufficient point to call 
out roars of laughter. * But for these interludes, 
life in a man of war, with severe officers, would 
be absolutely intolerable ; mutiny or desertion 
would mark the voyages of every such ship. 
Hence, officers in general highly value your jolly, 
merry-making, don't-care sort of seamen. They 
know the effect of their influence in keeping away 
discontented thought from the minds of a ship's 
company. One of these official favorites paid 
our frigate a visit while we lay at Lisbon. We 
had just finished breakfast, when a number of 
our men were seen running in high glee towards 
the main hatchway. Wondering what was going 
forward, I watched their proceedings with a curi- 
ous eye. The cause of their joy soon appeared 
in the person of a short, round-faced, merry-look- 
ing tar, who descended the hatchway amid cries 
of " Hurrah ! here 's happy Jack ! " As soon as the 
jovial little man had set his foot on the berth deck, 
he began a specimen of his vocal powers. The 
voice of song was as triumphant on board the 
Macedonian, as it was in days of yore in the halls 
of Ossian. Every voice was hushed, all work 
was brought to a stand still, while the crew gath- 
7 



74 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

ered round their favorite, in groups, to listen to 
his unequalled performances. Happy Jack suc- 
ceeded, while his visit lasted, in communicating 
his own joyous feelings to our people, and they 
parted from him at night with deep regret. 

A casual visitor in a man of war, beholding the 
song, the dance, the revelry of the crew, might 
judge them to be happy. But I know that these 
things are often resorted to, because they feel 
miserable, just to drive away dull care. They do 
it on the same principle as the slave population in 
the South, to drown in sensual gratification the 
voice of misery that groans in the inner man — 
that lives within, speaking of the indignity offered 
to its high nature by the chain that eats beyond 
the flesh — discoursing of the rights of man, of 
liberty on the free hills of a happier clime : while 
amidst the gayest negro dance, not a heart among 
the laughing gang but would beat with high 
emotions, and seize the boon with indescribable 
avidity, should it be offered its freedom on the 
spot. So in a man of war, where severe disci- 
pline prevails, though cheerfulness smiles at 
times, it is only the forced merriment of minds ill 
at ease ; minds that would gladly escape the 
thraldom of the hated service to which they are 
bound. 

Nor is this forced submission to circumstances 
univeisal. There are individuals who cannot be 
reached by these pleasantries ; in spite of every- 
thing, their spirits will writhe under the gripe 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 75 

of merciless authority. We had a melancholy 
instance of this species of mind on board our 
frigate. His name was Hill, the ward-room stew- 
ard. This man came on board with a resolute 
purpose to give satisfaction, if possible, to his 
superiors. He tried his utmost in vain. He was 
still scolded and cursed, until his condition seemed 
unendurable. One morning a boy entered the 
after ward-room, when the first object that met 
his astonished eye was the body of the steward, 
all ghastly and bleeding. He had cut his throat, 
and lay weltering in his gore. The surgeon was 
called, who pronounced him to be yet alive. The 
wound was sewed up, the poor sufferer carried to 
the hospital-ship, which was in attendance on the 
fleet, where he recovered, to be returned to his 
former ship, though in another and worse capa- 
city, that of common sailor. 

We had on board a colored man whose name 
was Nugent, who possessed a remarkably fine 
person, was very intelligent, exceedingly polite in 
his manners, and easy in his address. He soon 
grew weary of the caprices of our officers, and ran 
away. He was taken, however, in rather a curi- 
ous manner. The officers frequently walked the 
deck with their spy-glasses. As one of them 
was spending a few leisure moments in looking 
at the surrounding shipping, what should appear 
within the field of his glass, but the person of the 
fugitive Nugent on the deck of an American 
vessel ! Upon this, a boat was despatched, which 



76 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

soon returned with the crest-fallen deserter, who 
waS unceremoniously thrown into irons. By 
some fortunate chance, however, he escaped a 
flogging. 

Of course, my situation was as unpleasant as 
that of any other person on board. I could not 
witness the discomfort and ill-usage of others, 
without trembling for my own back. I, too, had 
thoughts of running away, as opportunities fre- 
quently offered themselves. But, being ignorant 
of the Portuguese language, I wisely concluded 
that my condition among them, if I got clear, 
would, in respect to my present state, bear about 
the same analogy as the fire does to the frying- 
pan. My little adventures on shore gave me full 
assurance of this fact. I remember going ashore 
on Good Friday. Like good Catholics, the Por- 
tuguese had the masts of their vessels crossed, 
with effigies of the traitor Judas hanging very 
significantly at their jib-booms. On shore, they 
were exhibiting the blasphemous mimicry of the 
solemn scene of the crucifixion. One was bear- 
ing the cross, another a sponge, a third the vine- 
gar. The streets were crowded with images of 
the saints, to which all reverently bowed. "Wo 
betide that sacrilegious wretch who refused this 
tribute to their darling images. He ivas sure of 
being knocked down ; he teas not sure of getting 
home alive. I was fain to yield my knees to 
save my skull; so for the time I was as good a 
Catholic as any of them, at least in the matter 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 77 

of bowing and crossing : it was done, however, 
with true Protestant mental reservation, and with 
a sincere determination to prefer my man-of-war's 
life to a life in Portugal. « 

On another occasion, some of our officers took 
me on shore to help them attend to some pur- 
chases. After following them a considerable 
distance, they gave me a small commission to 
execute, with directions to return to the ship as 
soon as it was attended to. This was no easy 
task, however : they had conducted me to a 
strange part of the city, and I knew scarcely a 
word of Portuguese. There I stood, then, sur- 
rounded only by foreigners, who neither understood 
my language nor I theirs. All I knew of my 
destination was, that our boat lay near the Fish- 
market; so, for the Fish-market I inquired. 
Speaking in English, I asked the first man I met 
to direct me. He looked at me with the empty 
stare of an idiot, and passed on. To the next, I 
said, partly in broken Portuguese and partly in 
my own tongue, " John," (they call everybody 
John, whose true name they do not know,) "do 
show me the fish-market." He could not under- 
stand me ; so, shrugging his shoulders, he said, 
"No entender Englis," and passed on. I asked 
several others, but invariably received a shrug 
of the shoulder, a shake of the head, and a " no 
entender Englis," for an answer. I grew des- 
perate, and began to feel as if I had lost my- 
self, when, to mv unutterable satisfaction, I saw an 
7# 



78 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

English soldier. I ran up to him and said, "Good 
luck to you; do tell me where the fish-market is, 
for these stupid Portuguese, had luck to them, 
can't understand a word I say ; but it is all, no 
entender Englis." My countryman laughed at 
seeing my English temper ruffled, and placed me 
in the way of reaching the fish-market. I hurried 
thither, when, to my chagrin, the boats were all 
gone. Here, then, was another difficulty ; for, 
though there were plenty of Portuguese boatmen, 
they could not understand which ship I wished 
to reach. Here, however, my fingers did what 
my tongue refused ; our ship had its mainmast 
out, so, holding up two fingers and pointing to 
the mast, they at last comprehended me and con- 
veyed me on board. Coming alongside, I gave 
them what I thought was right ; but they and I 
differed in opinion on that point ; they demanded 
more, with considerable bluster, but the sentry 
shouted, " Shove off there ! " and pointed his mus- 
ket at them. Whether they thought a reasonable 
fee, and a timely retreat, better than a contest 
which might give them the taste of a musket-ball, 
I cannot determine ; at all events, I know that 
boat never left ship faster than theirs, when they 
beheld the gleam of the sentry's musket flashing 
on their dark faces. 

Just after this adventure, I came very near 
being flogged, to my no small alarm. Happening 
on shore with two more of the officers' servants, 
named Yates and Skinner, we stayed so late, the 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 79 

ship's boats had all gone off. Finding the boats 
gone, we strayed back into the city ; night came 
on, and our return until morning was impossible. 
We had to wander about the city all night, in con- 
stant fear of being apprehended by the Portuguese 
as deserters. To prevent this no very desirable 
result, my comrades made me a midshipman ; for 
the satisfactory reason, that if an officer was sup- 
posed to be in our company, no one would trouble 
us. The summary process by which I was 
inducted into my new station, was by means of 
a stripe carefully marked on my collar with a 
piece of chalk, to imitate the silver lace on a 
middy's coat. Thus exalted, I marched my com- 
pany about Lisbon until dawn, when I again 
found myself the self-same Samuel Leech, ser- 
vant to the surgeon of H. M. Frigate Macedonian, 
that I was the previous evening, with this addi- 
tional fact, however, I was now liable to be flog- 
ged. So, in the true spirit of a Jeremy Sneak, 
we went on board, where, with due ceremon}^ we 
were parted for separate examinations. What 
tale my fellow-wanderers invented, I know not ; 
for my own part, 1 told the truth of the matter, 
excepting that I suppressed that part of it which 
related to my transformation into an officer. 
Luckily for us all, one of the party was the first 
lieutenant's servant; if he flogged one, he must 
flog the whole. To save the back of his own 
boy, he let us all escape. 

We were now ordered on another cruise. Being 



SO A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

in want of men, we resorted to the press-gang 
which was made up of our most loyal men, armed 
to the teeth ; by their aid we obtained our full 
numbers. Among them were a few Americans; 
they were taken without respect to their protec- 
tions, which were often taken from them and 
destroyed. Some were released through the 
influence of the American consul; others, less 
fortunate, were carried to sea, to their no small 
chagrin.^ 

The duties of the press-gang completed, we 
once more weighed anchor, and were soon ca- 
reering before the gales of the bay of Biscay. Our 
reception in this proverbially stormy bay was by 
no means a civil one. We met with an extraor- 
dinarily severe gale, in which we came very near 
foundering. We had just finished dinner, when 
a tremendous sea broke over us, pouring down 
the hatchway, sweeping the galley of all its half- 
cooked contents, then being prepared for the offi- 
cers' dinner, and covering the berth deck with a 
perfect flood. It seemed as if old Neptune really 
intended that wave to sink us to Davy Jones' 
locker. As the water rolled from side to side 
within, and the rude waves without beat against 
her, our good ship trembled from stem to stern, 

* To prevent the recovery of these men by their consul, 
the press-gang usually went ashore on the night previous 
to our going to sea ; so that before they were missed they 
were beyond his protection. Sometimes they were cleared 
on our return to port. 




M.V1 



82 SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 

and seemed like a human being gasping for breath 
in a struggle with death. The women (there 
were several on board) set up a shriek, a thing 
they had never done before ; some of the men 
turned pale ; others cursed and tried to say witty 
things ; the officers started ; orders ran along the 
ship to man the chain-pumps, and to cut holes 
through the berth deck to let the water into the 
hold. These orders being rapidly obeyed, the 
ship was freed from her danger. The confusion 
of the moment was followed by laughing and 
pleasantries. That gale was long spoken of as 
one of great danger. 

It is strange that sailors, who see so much peril, 
should treat religion with such neglect as it is 
usual for them to do. When danger is imminent, 
they send up a cry for help ; when it is past, they 
rarely return a grateful thank-offering. Yet how 
truly and eloquently has the Psalmist shown, in 
the 107th Psalm, what should be the moral effect 
of the wonders of the deep. What but a deep- 
rooted spiritual perversity prevents such an effect? 

The next incident that disturbed the monotony 
of our sea-life, was of a melancholy character. 
We had been giving chase to two West Indiamen 
the whole of one Sabbath afternoon ; at night it 
blowed so hard we had to reef top-sails ; when a 
poor fellow, named John Thomson, was knocked 
from the yard. In falling, he struck some part of 
the ship, and the wave which opened to receive 
him, never disclosed his form again. He was 9 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 83 

pressed man, an American by birth, greatly be- 
loved by his messmates, by whom his death was 
as severely felt as when a member of a family 
dies on shore. His loss created a dull and gloomy 
atmosphere throughout the ship : it was several 
days before the hands regained their wonted elas- 
ticity of mind and appearance. 

My recollections of this cruise are very feeble 
and indistinct, owing to a severe injury which 
confined me to my hammock nearly the whole 
period. The accident which ended in a severe 
illness had its origin in the following manner. 
The duty of cleaning knives, plates, dish-covers, 
&c, for the ward-room, devolved alternately on 
the boys employed in the ward-room. Having 
finished this task, one day, in my regular turn, 
the ward-room steward, a little hot-headed Malay, 
came to me at dinner time to inquire for the 
knives. Not recollecting for the moment, I made 
no reply; when he angrily pushed me over a 
sack of bread. In falling, my head came in con- 
tact with the corner of a locker. Feeling much 
pain, and the blood flowing freely, I went to Mr. 
Marsh, the surgeon's mate, who dressed it, and 
bade me take care of it. Probably it would have 
healed speedily but for the freak of a sailor a few 
days after, while holy-stoning the decks. By 
holy-stoning, I mean cleaning them with stones, 
which are used for this purpose in men of war. 
These stones are, some of them, large, with a ring 
at each end with a rope attached, by which it is 



S4 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

pulled backwards and forwards on the wet decks. 
These large stones are called holy bibles ; the 
smaller hand ones are also called holy-stones, or 
prayer-books, their shape being something like a 
book. After the decks are well rubbed with these 
stones, they are wiped dry with swabs made of 
rope-yarns. By this means the utmost cleanliness 
is preserved in the ship. It was customary in 
our ship, during this scrubbing process, for the 
boys to wash themselves in a large tub provided 
for the purpose on the main deck. The men de- 
lighted in sousing us with water during this ope- 
ration. After being wounded, as just mentioned, I 
endeavored to avoid their briny libations ; but one 
morning, one of the sailors, seeing my anxiety, 
crept slily up behind me, and emptied a pail of 
water directly over my head. That night I began 
both to look and to feel sick. My messmates 
said I was sea-sick, and laughed at me. Feeling 
violent pains in my head, ears and neck, I felt 
relieved when it was time to turn in. The next 
morning, being rather behind my usual time in 
waiting upon the surgeon, he began to scold me. 
I told him I was unwell. He felt my pulse, ex- 
amined my tongue, and excused me. Growing 
worse, my messmates got down my hammock. 
I entered it very sick ; my head and face swelling 
very large, and my eyes so sunken I could scarcely 
see. 

I remained in this sad situation several weeks, 
carefully attended by the surgeon, and watched by 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 85 

the men as tenderly as their rough hands could 
perform the office of nurse. My destiny was 
considered as being sealed, both by the crew and 
by myself. I was much troubled at the thought 
of dying : it seemed dark and dreary to enter the 
valley of the shadow of death without the pres- 
ence of a Saviour. To relieve my feelings, I 
frequently repeated the Lord's prayer, taught me 
by my indulgent mother in my earlier and brighter 
years. But my mind was dark and disconsolate ; 
there were none among that kind-hearted but 
profligate crew to point my soul to its proper rest. 
While lying in this state, my life hanging in a 
doubtful balance, one of the crew, named Black 
Tom, an African, was taken sick. His hammock 
was hung up in the sick bay, a part of the main 
deck appropriated to hospital purposes. Poor 
Tom, having a constitution already undermined 
by former excesses, soon fell under the attack of 
disease. He was then sewed up in his hammock, 
with some shot at his feet : at sundown the ship's 
bell pealed a melancholy note, the ship was " hove 
to," all hands mustered on deck, but myself; 
and, amid the most profound silence, the body of 
the departed sailor was laid upon the grating and 
launched into the great deep, the resting-place of 
many a bold head. A plunge, a sudden opening 
in the water, followed by an equally sudden 
return of the disparted waves, and Black Tom 
was gone forever from his shipmates ! In a few 
moments the yards were braced round, and our 
8 



86 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

frigate was cutting her way again through the 
wide ocean waste. It seemed to me that she was 
soon destined to heave to again, that I might also 
be consigned to an ocean grave. But in this I was 
happily disappointed. By the blessing of a watch- 
ful Providence, the aid of a sound constitution, 
assisted by the skill of our surgeon and the kind- 
ness of my shipmates, I was at last able to leave 
my hammock. Shortly after our return to Lisbon, 
I was pronounced fit for duty, and the surgeon 
having obtained another boy, I was placed on the 
quarter deck, in the capacity of messenger, or 
errand boy for the captain and his officers. 

With my return to active life, came my expos- 
ure to hardships, and, what I dreaded still more, 
to punishment. Some of the boys were to be 
punished on the main deck; the rest were ordered 
forward to witness it, as usual. Being so far aft 
that I could not hear the summons, as a matter 
of course, I remained at my post. The hawk-eye 
of the lieutenant missed me, and in a rage he 
ordered me to be sent for to receive a flogging for 
my absence. Excuse was vain; for, such was the 
fiendish temper of this brutal officer, he only 
wanted the shadow of a reason for dragging the poor 
helpless boys of his charge to the grating. While 
I stood in trembling expectation of being degraded 
by the hated cat, a summons from the captain 
providentially called off our brave boy-flogger, and 
I escaped. The offence was never mentioned 
afterwards. The reader can easily perceive how 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 87 

such a constant exposure to the lash must em- 
bitter a seaman's life. 

Already, since the Macedonian had been in 
commission, had she changed captains twice. 
Why it so happened, it is not in my power to 
explain ; but while at Lisbon, after the cruise last 
mentioned, our present captain was superseded by 
Captain John S. Garden. His arrival excited a 
transitory hope of a brighter lot, as he was an 
older man than the others, and, as we vainly 
trusted, a kinder one. Here, however, we were 
mistaken; he was like all the' rest, the same 
heartless, unfeeling lover of whip discipline. At 
first the men under sentence tried their powers at 
flattery with the grave old man ; but he was too 
experienced a sea-dog to be cajoled by a long- 
faced sailor under sentence : when, therefore, they 
told him he was a kind-hearted fatherly gentle- 
man, he only replied by a most provoking laugh, 
and by saying, they were a set of very undutiful 
sons. 

Captain Garden was mercilessly severe in pun- 
ishing theft. He would on no account forgive 
any man for this crime, but would flog the thief 
almost to death. Of this, we soon had a cruel 
instance. A midshipman named Gale, a most 
rascally, unprincipled fellow, found his pocket 
handkerchief in possession of one of the crew. 
He charged the man with stealing it. It was in 
vain that the poor wretch asserted that he found 
it under his hammock. He was reported as a 



88 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

thief; a court-martial sat upon him, and returned 
the shamefully disproportionate sentence of three 
hundred lashes through the fleet, and one year's 
imprisonment ! Any of my shipmates who are 
living, will certify to the truth of this statement, 
brutal and improbable as it may appear. 

Nor was that sentence a dead letter; the un- 
happy man endured it to the letter. Fifty were 
laid on alongside of the Macedonian, in conformity 
with a common practice of inflicting the most 
strokes at the first ship, in order that the gory 
back of the criminal may strike the more terror 
into the crews of the other ships. This poor 
tortured man bore two hundred and twenty, and 
was pronounced by the attending surgeon unfit to 
receive the rest. Galled, bruised, and agonized 
as he was, he besought him to suffer the infliction 
of the remaining eighty, that he might not be 
called to pass through the degrading scene again ; 
but this prayer was denied ! He was brought on 
board, and when his wounds were healed, the 
captain, Shylock-like, determined to have the 
whole pound of flesh, ordered him to receive the 
remainder ! 

But for my desire to present the reader with a 
true exhibition of life on board a British man of 
war, it would be my choice to suppress these dis- 
gusting details of cruelty and punishment. But 
this is impossible ; I must either draw a false 
picture or describe them. I choose the latter, in 
the hope that giving publicity to these facts will 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 89 

exert a favorable influence on the already improv- 
ing discipline of ships of war. 

The case of our ship's drummer will illustrate 
the hopelessness of our situation under such 
officers as commanded our ship ; it will show 
that implicit, uncomplaining submission was our 
only resource. This drummer, being seized up 
for some petty offence, demanded, what no captain 
can refuse, to be tried by a court-martial ; in the 
hope, probably, of escaping altogether. The 
officers laughed among each other, and when, a 
few days afterwards, the poor, affrighted man 
offered to withdraw the demand and take six 
dozen lashes, they coolly remarked, " The drum- 
mer is sick of his bargain." He would have 
been a wiser man had he never made it ; for the 
court-martial sentenced him to receive two hun- 
dred lashes through the fleet : — a punishment 
ostensibly for his first offence, but really for his 
msolence (?) in demanding a trial by court-mar- 
tial. Such was the administration of justice (?) 
on board the Macedonian. 

" Why did not your crew rise in resistance to 
such cruelty?" is a question which has often 
been proposed to me, when relating these facts to 
my American friends. To talk of mutiny on 
shore is an easy matter ; but to excite it on ship- 
board is to rush on certain death. Let it be 
known that a man has dared to breathe the idea, 
and he is sure to swing at the yard-arm. Some 
of our men once saw six mutineers hanging at 
8* 



90 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

the yard-arm at once, in a ship whose crew exhib- 
ited the incipient beginnings of mutiny. Let 
mutiny be successful, the government will employ 
its whole force, if needful, in hunting down the 
mutineers ; their blood, to the last drop, is the 
terrible retribution it demands for this offence. 
That demand is sure to be met, as was the case 
with the crew of the Hermion^ frigate, and with 
the crew of the ill-fated Bounty, whose history is 
imprinted on the memory of the whole civilized 
world. With such tragedies flitting before our 
eyes, who need ask why we did not resist ? 

Just before we left Lisbon for another cruise, 
my position was once more changed by my ap- 
pointment to the post of servant to the sailing- 
master ; whose boy, for some offence or other, was 
flogged and turned away. Here, too, the captain 
procured a fine band, composed of Frenchmen, 
Italians and Germans, taken by the Portuguese 
from a French vessel. These musicians con- 
sented to serve, on condition of being excused from 
fighting, and on a pledge of exemption from being 
flogged. They used to play to the captain during 
his dinner hour ; the party to be amused usually 
consisting of the captain and one or two invited 

* The crew of this vessel mutinied, killed their officers, 
and run the ship into a Spanish port, where she fell into 
the hands of the Spaniards, then at war with England. 
Large rewards were offered for these ' mutineers ; many 
were taken, and all who were taken suffered the penalty 
of death. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 91 

guests from the ward-room ; except on Sundays, 
when he chose to honor the ward-room with his 
august presence. The hand then played for the 
ward-room. They also played on deck whenever 
we entered or left a port. On the whole, their 
presence was an advantage to the crew, since 
their spirit-stirring strains served to spread an 
occasional cheerful influence over them. Soon 
after they came on hoard, we had orders to pro- 
ceed to sea a^ain on another cruise. 



CHAPTER IV. 

A man overboard — A false alarm — Arrive at Madeira — 
Cruise to St. Michael's — Birth of two children— Return 
to Lisbon — Short cruises why liked — Bob Hammond 
in trouble again — Jack Sadler attempts to desert — Sad- 
ler and Hammond placed in irons — Bob's defence — The 
Broomers — Bob Hammond runs away — Rumor of war 
with America — The Macedonian sails with despatches 
to America — Sufferings through cold — Anecdote of a 
tyrannical lieutenant — Reach Hampton Roads — Good 
fare — Refusal to let the crew go ashore — Reason — 
Exchange of courtesies between Captain Garden and 
Commodore Decatur — The Leopard and the Chesa- 
peake — Departure from Virginia — At Lisbon — The 
mail-bag — Advantage of a little education — Macedo- 
nian sails for England. 

A few days after we had fairly got out to sea, 
the thrilling cry of " A man overboard ! " ran 
through the ship with electrical effect; it was 
followed by another cry of, " Heave out a rope !" 
then by still another, of "Cut away the life 
buoy ! " Then came the order, " Lower a boat ! " 
Notwithstanding the rapidity of these commands, 
and the confusion occasioned by the anticipated 
loss of a man, they were rapidly obeyed. The 
ship was then hove to. But that time, however, 
the cause of all this excitement was at a consider- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 93 

able distance from the ship. It was a poor Swede, 
named Logholm, who, while engaged in lashing 
the larboard anchor stock, lost his hold and fell 
into the sea. He could not swim ; but, somehow, 
he managed to keep afloat until the boat reached 
him, when he began to sink. The man at the 
bow ran his boat hook down, and caught the 
drowning man by his clothes : his clothes tear- 
ing, the man lost his hold, and the Swede once 
more sunk. Again the active bowsman ran the 
Jmok down, leaning far over the side ; fortunately, 
he got hold of his shirt collar : dripping, and 
apparently lifeless, they drew him into the boat. 
He was soon under the surgeon's care, whose 
skill restored him to animation and to life. It 
was a narrow escape ! 

Rising one morning, I heard the men talking 
about having been called to quarters during the 
night. They said a strange vessel having ap- 
peared, the drums beat to quarters, the guns were 
got ready, those great lanterns, which are placed 
on the main deck, called battle lanterns, were got 
out, and the officers began to muster the men at 
each division ; when they discovered the supposed 
vessel of war to be nothing more than a large 
merchant ship. Upon this the hands were sent 
below. All this was news to me ; I had slept 
through all the noise, confusion and bustle of the 
night, utterly ignorant of the whole matter. It 
was fortunate for me that the real character of the 
strange ship was discovered before my name was 



94 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

called, otherwise the morning would have found 
rne at the gratings under punishment. Never was 
boy happier than myself, when made acquainted 
with my hair-breadth escape from the lash. 

We had now reached the island of Madeira, 
occupied by the Portuguese, and producing fine 
oranges, grapes and wine. It is some sixty miles 
in length, about forty in breadth ; the climate is 
hot, but salubrious ; its harbor, or rather roadstead, 
is by no means commodious or safe — so that our 
stay was short. Here, the Portuguese lad who 
had supplied my place as servant to the surgeon, 
was sent on shore, for attempting a crime unfit to 
be mentioned in these pages, but quite common 
among the Spaniards and Portuguese. My old 
master made an effort to obtain me again, but did 
not succeed. 

Sailing from Madeira, we next made St. Mi- 
chael's. At this place we had an increase to our 
crew, in the person of a fine, plump boy — born to 
the wife of one of our men. The captain chris- 
tened the new comer, Michael, naming him after 
the island. This birth was followed by another. 
Whether the captain did not like the idea of such 
interesting episodes in sea life, or whether any 
other motive inspired him, I cannot tell ; but when, 
shortly after, we returned to Lisbon, he ordered 
all the women home to England, by a ship just 
returning thither. Before this, however, one of 
our little Tritons had died, and found a grave un- 
der the billows, leaving: its disconsolate mother in 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR, 95 

a state little short of distraction. A man of war 
is no place for a woman. 

Short cruises are very popular with man-of- 
war's-men. On many accounts they love being- 
in harbor ; on others they prefer being" at sea. In 
harbor they have to work all day, but in return for 
this they have the whole night for sleep. At sea y 
the whole time is divided into five watches of four 
hours each, and two shorter ones, called dog" 
watches, of two hours each, or from four to six 
and from six to eight, P. M. The design of these 
dog watches is to alternate the time, so that each 
watch may have a fair proportion of every night 
below. 

While at our station this time, our old friend? 
Bob Hammond, met with some little difficulty? 
which we will here make matter of record. He 
was below, and one of his messmates did some- 
thing that vexed him exceedingly. Now Bob was 
not a man to bear vexations tamely, where he had 
the power to resist them ; so, lifting his huge fist? 
he struck at the offender ; missing his real oppo- 
nent, the blow fell upon another who stood near 
him. Bob was too much of a bully to offer any 
apology ; he merely laughed, and remarked that 
he had " killed two birds with one stone." 

Whether the bird, who, in Bob's figurative lan- 
guage, was killed, did not like being called a bird, 
or whether he conceived a strong dislike to being 
a mark for Bob to shoot at, is not for me to say ; 
but he certainly disliked the one or the other, for 



yd A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

the next morning he reported the matter to the 
officers, which complaint was considered a most 
unsailor-like act by the whole crew. 

Fighting was a punishable offence, so Bob was 
called up the next morning. The captain men- 
tioned what was reported concerning him. He 
acknowledged it was all true, and without any 
signs of contrition said, " I only killed two birds 
with one stone." The angry captain ordered two 
dozen lashes to be laid on ; it was done without 
extorting a sigh or a groan. He was then loosed 
from the grating, and questioned ; but he merely 
replied, in a gruff tone, that " the man who report- 
ed him was a blackguard ! " For this, he was 
seized up again and another dozen lashes inflicted ; 
he bore them with the same dogged and imper- 
turbable air. Finding it impossible to extort any 
acknowledgment from the stubborn tar, the cap- 
tain ordered him below. 

About the same time one of our crew, named 
Jack Sadler, a fine, noble-hearted seaman, growing 
weary of the service, determined to desert. Drop- 
ping into the water, he began swimming towards 
the shore. It was not very dark, and he was dis- 
covered; the sentry was ordered to fire at him, 
which he did, but missed his prey. A boat was 
next lowered, which soon overtook and dragged 
him on board. The officer commanding the boat 
said, " Well, Mr. Sadler, you thought you had got 
away, did you ? " " You are not so sure that you 
have me now," replied Sadler, as he sprung over 
the side of the boat. Nor would they have cap- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 97 

tured him, had not another ship's "boat arrived to 
their assistance. 

The next day, he was seized up and received 
three dozen lashes, which, considering- his offence? 
was a very light punishment. I suppose that his 
nohle bearing, his lion-hearted courage, and his 
undaunted manner, produced a favorable feeling in 
the captain's mind; especially as he afterwards 
became his favorite — a fancy man — as those men 
are called who win the favor of their superior 
officer. 

One of Sadler's failings was that too prevalent 
evil among seamen, drunkenness. Soon after the 
above affair, he got drunk. Being seen by the 
captain, he was ordered to be put in irons. Sad- 
ler was Bob Hammond's messmate ; this worthy, 
finding his comrade in trouble, made himself drunk, 
and purposely placed himself in the way of the 
officers, that he might be put in irons also, to keep 
his friend Sadler company. The plan succeeded. 
Bob had his wish, and the two fearless tars were 
soon ironed together. Nothing daunted, they 
began to sing, and through the whole night they 
kept up such a hallooing, shouting and singing as 
might have served for a whole company of idle 
roysterers. Being near the ward-room, they pre- 
vented the officers from sleeping nearly all night. 

As usual, after being in irons, they were brought 
up for punishment the next morning. " Well, Mr. 
Sadler," said the captain, " you were drunk, were 
you, last night ? " 
9 



98 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

" I was, sir," replied the offender. 

Had he been any other man, he would have 
been ordered to strip : as it was, the captain pro- 
ceeded, — ■ 

" Do you feel sorry for it, sir ? " 

" I do, sir." 

" Will you try to keep sober if I forgive you ? " 
continued Captain Carden. 

" I will try, sir." 

" Then, sir, I forgive you :" and no doubt he 
was glad to witness that contrition in his favorite 
which made it consistent to forgive him. Having 
dismissed Sadler, he turned to Hammond : as- 
suming a sterner look and a harsher voice, he 
said, in a tone of irony, " Well, Mr. Hammond, 
you got drunk last night, did you, sir ? " 

Bob shrugged up his shoulders, and removed 
his enormous quid into a convenient position for 
speaking, and then replied, " I can't say but that 
I had a horn of malt." 

The captain looked thunder at the stalwort man, 
as he answered, "A horn of malt, you rascal! 
what do you call a horn of malt ? " 

" When I was in Bengal, Madras, and Bata- 
via," said he, " I used to get some stuff called 
arrack — we used to call it a horn of malt; but this 
was some good rum." 

Bob's manner was so exquisitely ridiculous 
while delivering this harangue, that both officers 
and men broke out into an involuntary laugh. 
The captain looked confounded, but recovering 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR, 99 

himself, he said to Mr. Hope, the first lieutenant, 
" Put that rascal in irons; it is of no use to flog 
him." 

One of the peculiarities of Captain Carden was 
an ardent desire to have a crew of picked, first- 
rate men. The shiftless, slovenly seaman was 
his abhorrence. Had he dared, he would gladly 
have given all such their discharge; as it was, 
he never attempted their recovery, by offering 
a reward for their detection, if they ran away; 
while he spared no pains to catch an able, active, 
valuable man like Sadler. He even gave these 
drones opportunity to escape, by sending them on 
shore at Lisbon, to cut stuff to make brooms for 
sweeping the deck. The men sent out on these 
expeditions were nicknamed "broomers." Now, 
although Bob Hammond was as expert a sailor as 
any man in the ship, yet his unconquerable au- 
dacity made the captain fear his influence, and 
wish to get rid of him ; hence, a few days after 
this drunken spree, Bob was called on deck to go 
with the broomers. " You may go, Mr. Ham- 
mond," said the captain, eyeing him in a very 
expressive manner, "with these fellows to cut 
broom." 

Bob understood the hint perfectly, and replied, 
" Aye, aye, sir, and I will cut a long handle to 
it." I scarcely need remark that the broomers 
returned without Bob. Whether he remained on 
shore to cut the long handle, or for some other 
purpose, he never informed us : certain it is, 



100 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

however, that the presence of Bob Hammond 
never darkened the decks of the Macedonian 
again. 

About this time the prevailing topic of conver- 
sation among our men and officers was the proba- 
bility of a war with America. The prevailing 
feeling through the whole fleet was that of confi- 
dence in our own success, and of contempt for 
the inferior naval force of our anticipated ene- 
mies. Every man, and especially the officers, 
predicted, as his eye glanced proudly on the fine 
fleet which was anchored oif Lisbon, a speedy and 
successful issue to the approaching conflict. 

We now received orders to sail to Norfolk, 
Virginia, with despatches. The voyage was ac- 
complished without any occurrence of note. We 
found ourselves on the American coast, with no 
very pleasant impressions. It was late in the fall, 
and the transition from the mild, soft climate of 
Spain and Portugal, to the bleak, sharp atmos- 
phere of the coast of Virginia, was any thing but 
delightful. 

The most disagreeable duty in the ship was 
that of holy-stoning the decks on cold, frosty morn- 
ings. Our movements were never more elastic 
than when at this really severe task. As usual, 
it gave occasion to a variety of forecastle yarns 
about cold stations. Among these was one which 
was attested by many witnesses, and there can be 
no doubt of its truth. 

A British frigate was once stationed in a cold 



SiX YEAYS IN A MAN OF WAR. 101 

climate. The first lieutenant was a complete ty- 
rant, delighting in everything that caused the 
crew to suffer. Among other things, he took 
especial care to make the work of holy-stoning as 
painful as possible, by forcing them to continue at 
it much longer than was necessary. Although 
he had no watch on deck, he would contrive to 
be up in season to annoy the men with his hated 
presence. One morning, the weather being un- 
usally severe, the men sprang to their task with 
unwonted agility, and contrived to finish it before 
the appearance of their persecutor. To their vex- 
ation, however, just as they had completed their 
work, he bounced on deck, with a peremptory 
order to wash the decks all over a second time. 

The men dropped on their knees with the holy- 
stones, and prayed, as the tyrant went below, 
that he might never come on deck again alive. 
Whether God heard the cry of the oppressed 
crew, or whether it was the action of the ordinary 
natural laws, the reader must determine for him- 
self; but when the lieutenant again appeared on 
deck, he was brought up " feet foremost," to be 
buried. He was taken sick that morning: his 
disease baffled the skill of the surgeon, and in a 
few days he was a corpse. The opinion that he 
died a monument of the divine displeasure against 
cruel, hard-hearted men of power, and of disregard 
for the miseries and tears of the oppressed poor, 
is at least worthy of serious consideration. 

Soon after we had descried land, an American 
9* 



102 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

pilot came on board to pilot us into Hampton 
Roads. The sound of our own familiar tongue 
from a stranger, was very agreeable to men who 
had been accustomed to hear the semi-barbarous 
lingo of the Portuguese, and a thrill of home re- 
membrances shot through our hearts, as, stepping 
on deck, the pilot exclaimed, " It is very cold ! " 

While at anchor in Hampton Roads, we fared 
well. Boats were alongside every day with plenty 
of beef and pork, which was declared, by univer- 
sal consent, to be infinitely superior to what we 
obtained from Portugal. Our men said that the 
Yankee pork would swell in the pot, which they 
very sagely accounted for on the supposition that 
the pigs were killed at the full of the moon. But 
I suppose that Virginia corn had more to do in 
this matter than lunar influences ; though our 
men most doggedly maintained the contrary and 
more mystical opinion. 

The principal draw-back on the enjoyment of 
our stay at Norfolk, was the denial of liberty to 
go on shore. The strictest care was taken to 
prevent all communication with the shore, either 
personally or by letter. The reason of this pro- 
hibition was a fear lest we should desert. Many 
of our crew were Americans : some of these were 
pressed men ; others were much dissatisfied with 
the severity, not to say cruelty, of our discipline ; 
so that a multitude of the crew were ready to give 
"leg bail," as they termed it, could they have 
planted their feet on American soil. Hence our 
liberty was restrained. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 103 

Our officers never enjoyed better cheer than 
during our stay at this port. Besides feasting 
among themselves on the fine fat beef, geese and 
turkeys, which came alongside in abundance, 
they exchanged visits with Commodore Decatur 
and his officers, of the United States frigate, then 
lying at Norfolk. These visits were seasons of 
much wassail and feasting. I remember over- 
hearing Commodore Decatur and the captain of 
the Macedonian joking about taking each other's 
ship, in case of a war ; and some of the crew said 
that a bet of a beaver hat passed between them on 
the issue of such a conflict. They probably little 
thought that this joking over a wine-cup, would 
afterwards be cracked in earnest, in a scene of 
blood and carnage. 

It was at this port that the difficulty between 
the British ship Leopard and the American fri- 
gate Chesapeake took place. Several American 
seamen, having escaped from the former, took 
refuge on board the latter. The captain of the 
Leopard demanded their restoration ; the captain 
of the Chesapeake refused submission to the 
demand. The Leopard fired into the frigate, 
which, being of inferior force, struck to her oppo- 
nent. As it was a time of peace, the Chesapeake 
was not kept as a prize ; the claimed men werf 
taken from her, and she was restored. This was 
among the circumstances which led to the war 
of 1812. 

The despatches delivered, and the object of the 



104 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

voyage accomplished, we once more put to sea ; 
having first laid in a liberal store of our favorite 
beef, together with a quantity of Virginia beans, 
called Calavances, which were in high favor with 
our men. To those of our crew who were Amer- 
icans, this was rather an unpleasant event. Like 
the fabled Tantalus, they had the cup at their 
mouths, but it receded before they could taste its 
contents. They had been at the threshold of 
" home, sweet home," but had not been permitted 
to step within its doors. Some of them felt this 
very keenly, especially a boy, who belonged to 
New York, named Jesse Lloyd. In truth, it 
was a hard lot. 

A quick winter passage brought us to Lisbon, 
where the arrival of the English mail-bag, and 
orders to proceed to England with a convoy of mer- 
chantmen, put us all into a tolerably good humor. 

The arrival of the mail-bag is a season of pecu- 
liar interest on board a man of war. It calls the 
finer feelings of human nature into exercise. It 
awakens conjugal, fraternal, and filial affection in 
almost every breast. The men crowd around, as 
the letters are distributed, and he was pronounced 
a happy fellow whose name was read off by the 
distributor; while those who had none, to hide 
their disappointment, would jocularly offer to buy 
those belonging to their more fortunate mess- 
mates. 

During the two years of our absence I had 
received several letters from my mother, which 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 105 

afforded me much satisfaction. To these I had 
faithfully replied. I now experienced the advan- 
tage of the primary education I had received 
when a hoy. Many of my shipmates could nei- 
ther read nor write, and were, in consequence, 
either altogether deprived of the privilege of inter- 
course with their friends, or were dependent on 
the kindness of others, to read and write for them. 
For these I acted as a sort of scribe. I also 
solaced many weary hours by reading such works 
as could be obtained from the officers ; and some- 
times I perused the Bible and prayer book which 
my mother so wisely placed in my chest, on the 
eve of my departure. The pack of cards, which 
so inappropriately accompanied them, I had loaned 
to one of the officers, who took the liberty to keep 
them. This was, perhaps, more fortunate than 
otherwise, since their possession might have led 
to their use, and their use might have excited a 
propensity to gambling, which would have ended 
in my ruin. 

After remaining a very short time at Lisbon, 
we one morning fired a gun to give notice to 
our convoy to get under weigh. Immediately 
the harbor was alive with noise and activity. 
The song of the sailors weighing anchor, the 
creaking of pulleys, the napping of the sails, the 
loud, gruff voices of the officers, and the splashing 
of the waters, created what was to us, now that 
we were " homeward bound," a sweet harmony 
of sounds. Amid all this animation, our own 



106 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

stately frigate spread her bellying sails to a light 
but favoring breeze ; with colors flying, our band 
playing lively airs, and the captain with his speak- 
ing trumpet urging the lagging merchant-ships to 
more activity, we passed gaily through the large 
fleet consigned to our care. In this gallant style 
we scudded past the straggling ruins of old Lis- 
bon, which still bore marks of the earthquake that 
destroyed it. Very soon the merry fishermen, 
who abound in the Tagus, were far at our stern. 
Next, we glided past the tall granite pinnacles of 
towering mount Cintra ; the high-lands passed 
from our vision like the scenes in a panorama, 
and in a few hours, instead of the companionship 
of the large flocks of gulls, which abound in this 
river, we were attended by only here and there 
one of these restless wanderers of the deep. "We 
were fairly at sea, and, what was the more inspir- 
iting, we were enjoying the luxury of fond an- 
ticipation. Visions of many an old fire-side, of 
many a humble hearth-stone, poor, but precious, 
flitted across the visions of our crew that night. 
Hardships, severe discipline, were for the time 
forgotten in the dreams of hope. Woald that I 
could say that everything in every mind was 
thus absorbed in pleasure ! There were minds 
that writhed under what is never forgotten. Like 
the scar, that time may heal, but not remove, 
the flogged man forgets not that he has been 
degraded; the whip, when it scarred the flesh, 
went farther ; it wounded the spirit ; it struck the 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 107 

man; it begat a sense of degradation he must 
carry with him to his grave. We had many such 
on board our frigate ; their laugh sounded empty, 
and sometimes their look became suddenly vacant 
in the midst of hilarity. It was the whip enter- 
ing the soul anew. But the most of our crew 
were, for the time, happy. They were homeward 
bound! 



CHAPTER V, 

Delight at seeing my native land — Plymouth — Use made 
of shore-liberty by sailors — A Sabbath ashore — Good 
effects of temperance illustrated— Desire and opportu- 
nity to rim away — I resolve to remain — A man of war 
a bad place for a boy — Licentiousness in port — Danger 
follows the sailor everywhere — The loss of the Koyal 
George — Extract from Cowper — The Macedonian is 
hauled up — Repaired — Sailing orders — A bad practice 
— Getting under weigh — Engaged in the blockade of 
Brest — Ordered to Plymouth — Order countermanded — 
Unlucky adventurers — A prize. 

After running a few days before a fair wind, 
the delightful cry of " Land ho !" was heard from 
the mast-head ; a cry always pleasant to the 
inhabitant of a ship, but most especially so 
when the distant hills are those of his native land. 
Soon after the cry of the man aloft, the land 
became dimly visible from the deck, and our eyes 
glistened, as the bright, emerald fields of old Eng- 
land, in all the glory of their summer beauty, lay 
spread out before us. Ascending the British 
Channel, we soon made the spacious harbor of 
Plymouth, where we came to an anchor. One of 
our convoy, however, by some unskilful manage- 
ment, ran ashore at the mouth of the harbor, 
where she went to pieces. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 109 

We found Plymouth to be a naval station of 
considerable importance, well fortified, possessing 
extensive barracks for the accommodation of the 
military, and having a magnificent dock-yard, 
abundantly supplied with the means of building 
and refitting the wooden walls. 

Nothing would have afforded me a higher grati- 
fication, than a trip to the pleasant fields and quiet 
hearth-sides of dear old Bladen. I longed to pour 
out my pent-up griefs into the bosom of my 
mother, and to find that sympathy which is sought 
in vain in the cold, unfeeling world. This privi- 
lege was, however, denied to all. No one could 
obtain either leave of absence or money, since a 
man of war is never " paid off" until just before 
she proceeds to sea. But, feeling heartily tired of 
the service, I wrote to my mother, requesting her 
to endeavor to procure my discharge. This, with 
the promptitude of maternal affection, she pledged 
herself to do at the earliest possible opportunity. 
How undying is a mother's love ! 

When a man of war is in port, it is usual to 
grant the crew occasional liberty to go on shore. 
These indulgences are almost invariably abused 
for purposes of riot, drunkenness and debauchery; 
rarely does it happen, but that these shore sprees 
end in bringing " poor Jack" into difficulty of 
some sort ; for, once on shore, he is like an un- 
caged bird, as gay and quite as thoughtless. He 
will then follow out the dictates of passions and 
appetites, let them lead him whither they may. 
10 



110 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

Still, there are exceptions ; there are a few who 
spend their time more rationally. Were the prin- 
ciples of modern temperance fully triumphant 
among sailors, they would all do so. 

I resolved not to abuse my liberty as I saw 
others doing ; so when, one fine Sabbath morning, 
I had obtained leave from our surly first lieuten- 
ant, I chose the company of a brother to a mess- 
mate, named Rowe, who lived at Plymouth. At 
the request of my messmate, I called to see him. 
He received me very kindly, and took me in com- 
pany with his children into the fields, where the 
merry notes of the numerous birds, the rich per- 
fume of the blooming trees, the tall, green hedges, 
and the modest primroses, cowslips and violets, 
which adorned the banks on the road-side, filled 
me with inexpressible delight. True, this was 
not the proper manner of spending a Sabbath day, 
but it was better than it would have been to follow 
the example of my shipmates generally, who were 
carousing in the tap-rooms of the public houses. 

At sunset I went on board and walked aft to 
the lieutenant, to report myself. He appeared sur- 
prised to see me on board so early and so perfectly 
sober, and jocosely asked me why I did not get 
drunk and be like a sailor. Merely smiling, I 
retired to my berth, thinking it was very queer for 
an officer to laugh at a boy for doing right, and 
feeling happy within myself because I had escaped 
temptation. 

By and by, three other boys, who had been 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. Ill 

ashore, returned, in a state which a sailor would 
call " three sheets in the wind." They blustered, 
boasted of the high time they had enjoyed, and 
roundly laughed at me for being so unlike a man- 
of-war's-man ; while they felt as big as any man 
on board. The next morning, however, they 
looked rather chop-fallen, when the captain, who 
had accidentally seen their drunken follies on 
shore, ordered them to be flogged, and forbade their 
masters to send them ashore while we remained 
at Plymouth. Now, then, it was pretty evident 
who had the best cruise; the joke was on the 
other side ; for while their drunken behavior cost 
them a terrible whipping and a loss of liberty, my 
temperance gained me the real approbation of my 
officers, and more liberty than ever, since after that 
day I had to go on shore to do errands for their 
masters, as well as for my own. The young sailor 
may learn from this fact the benefit of temperance, 
and the folly of getting drunk, for the sake of 
being called a fine fellow. 

My frequent visits to the shore gave me many op- 
portunities to run away ; while my dislike of every- 
thing about the Macedonian, inspired me with the 
disposition to improve them. Against this meas- 
ure my judgment wisely remonstrated, and, happily 
for my well being, succeeded. Such an attempt 
would inevitably have been followed by my recov- 
ery, since a handsome bounty was paid for the 
delivery of every runaway. There are always a 
sufficient number to be found who will engage in 



112 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

pursuit for the sake of money — such men as the 
Canadian landlord, described by Rev. Wm. Ligh- 
ten, in his interesting narrative, a work with 
which, no doubt, most of my readers are acquainted, 
since it has enjoyed an immense circulation. En- 
durance, therefore, was the only rational purpose 
I could form. 

Perhaps the hope of a speedy discharge, through 
my mother's efforts, tended somewhat to this result 
in my case; besides, my situation had become 
somewhat more tolerable from the fact, that by 
dint of perseverance in a civil and respectful be- 
havior, I had gained the good will both of the 
officers and crew. Yet, with this advantage, it was 
a miserable situation. 

There are few worse places than a man of war, 
for the favorable development of the moral charac- 
ter in a boy. Profanity, in its most revolting 
aspect; licentiousness, in its most shameful and 
beastly garb ; vice, in the worst of its Proteus-like 
shapes, abound there. While scarcely a moral 
restraint is thrown round the victim, the meshes 
of temptation are spread about his path in every 
direction. Bad as things are at sea, they are worse 
in port. There, boat-loads of denied and defiling 
women are permitted to come alongside ; the 
men, looking over the side, select whoever best 
pleases his lustful fancy, and by paying her fare, 
he is allowed to take and keep her on board as 
his paramour, until the ship is once more ordered 
to sea. Many of these lost, unfortunate creatures 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 113 

are in the springtime of life, some of them are 
not without pretensions to beauty. The ports of 
Plymouth and Portsmouth are crowded with these 
fallen beings. How can a boy be expected to 
escape pollution, surrounded by such works of 
darkness ? Yet, some parents send their children 
to sea because they are ungovernable ashore ! 
Better send them to the house of correction. 

There is one aspect in which life at sea and 
life in port materially differ. At sea, a sense of 
danger, an idea of insecurity, is ever present to 
the mind ; in harbor, a sense of security lulls the 
sailor into indulgence. He feels perfectly safe. 
Yet, even in harbor, danger sometimes visits the 
fated ship, stealing upon her like the spirit of 
evil. This remark was fearfully illustrated in 
the loss of the Royal George, which sunk at Spit- 
head, near Portsmouth, on the 29th of August, 
1782. 

This splendid line of battle ship, of one hun- 
dred and eight guns, had arrived at Spithead. 
Needing some repairs, she was " heeled down" or 
inclined on one side, to allow the workmen to 
work on her sides. Finding more needed to be 
done to the copper sheathing than was expected, 
the sailors were induced to heel her too much. 
While in this state, she was struck by a slight 
squall ; the cannon rolled over to the depressed 
side ; her ports were open, she filled with water, 
and sunk to the bottom ! 

This dreadful catastrophe occurred about ten 
10* 



114 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

o'clock in the morning. The brave admiral Kern- 
penfeldt was writing in his cabin; most of the 
crew, together with some three hundred women, 
were between decks : these nearly all perished. 
Captain Waghorne, her commander, was saved ; 
his son, one of her lieutenants, was lost. Those 
who were on the upper deck were picked up by 
the boats of the fleet, but nearly one thousand 
souls met with a sudden and untimely end. The 
poet Cowper has celebrated this melancholy event 
in the following beautiful lines : 

Toll for the brave ! 

The brave that are no more ! 
All sunk beneath the wave, 

Fast by their native shore. 

Eight hundred of the brave, 
Whose courage well was tried, 

Had made the vessel heel, 
And laid her on her side. 

A land breeze shook the shrouds, 

And she was overset ; 
Down went the Royal George, 

With all her crew complete. 

Toll for the brave — 

Brave Kempenfeldt is gone, 
His last sea fight is fought— 

His work of glory done. 

It was not in the battle ; 

No tempest gave the shock j 
She sprang no fatal leak ; 

She ran upon no rock. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OP WAR. 115 

His sword was in its sheath ; 

His fingers held the pen , 
"When Kempenfeldt went down, 

"With twice four hundred men. 

"Weigh the vessel up, 

Once dreaded by our foes ! 
And mingle with our cup 

The tear that England owes 

Her timbers yet are sound, 

And she may float again, 
Full charged with England's thunder, 

And plough the distant main. 

But Kempenfeldt is gone, 

His victories are o'er ; 
And he, and his eight hundred, 

Shall plough the wave no more. 

To return to my narrative. Our ship, having 
been at sea two years, needed overhauling. She 
was therefore taken into one of the splendid dry 
docks in the Plymouth dock-yard, while the crew 
were placed, for the time being, on board an old 
hulk. A week or two sufficed for this task, when 
we returned to our old quarters. She looked like 
a new ship, having been gaily painted within and 
without. We, too, soon got newly rigged; for 
orders had reached us from the admiralty office 
to prepare for sea, and we were paid off. Most 
of the men laid out part of their money in getting 
new clothing; some of it went to buy pictures, 
looking-glasses, crockery ware, &c, to ornament 



116 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

our berths, so that they bore some resemblance to 
a cabin. The women were ordered ashore, and 
we were once more ready for sea. 

The practice of paying seamen at long inter- 
vals, is the source of many evils. Among these, 
is the opportunity given to pursers to practise ex- 
tortion on the men — an opportunity they are not 
slow in improving. The spendthrift habits of 
most sailors leave them with a barely sufficient 
quantity of clothing, for present purposes, when 
they ship. If the cruise is long, they are, conse- 
quently, obliged to draw from the purser. This 
gentleman is ever ready to supply them, but at 
ruinous prices. Poor articles with high prices are 
to be found in his hands ; these poor Jack must 
take of necessity, because he cannot get his wages 
until he is paid off. Hence, what with poor arti- 
cles, high charges and false charges, the purser 
almost always has a claim which makes Jack's 
actual receipts for two or three years' service, 
wofully small. Were he paid at stated periods, 
he could make his own purchases as he needed 
them. The sailor is aware of this evil, but he 
only shows his apprehension of it in his usually 
good-humored manner. If he sees a poor, ill-cut 
garment, he will laugh, and say it " looks like a 
purser's shirt on a handspike." These are small 
matters, but they go to make up the sum total of 
a seaman's life, and should therefore be remedied 
as far as possible. 

Our preparations all completed, the hoarse 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 117 

voice of the boatswain rang through the ship, 
crying, " All hands up anchor, ahoy ! " In a 
trice, the capstan bars were shipped, the fifer was 
at his station playing a lively tune, the boys were 
on the main deck holding on to the "nippers," 
ready to pass them to the men, who put them 
round the " messenger " and cable ; then, amid the 
cries of " Walk round ! heave away, my lads ! " 
accompanied by the shrill music of the fife, the 
anchor rose from its bed, and was soon dangling 
under our bows. The sails were then shaken 
out, the ship brought before the wind, and we 
were once more on our way to sea. We were 
directed to cruise off the coast of France this 
time ; where, as we were then at war with the 
French, we were likely to find active service. 

We first made the French port of Kochelle ; 
from thence, we sailed to Brest, which was closely 
blockaded by a large British fleet, consisting of 
one three-decker, with several seventy-fours, be- 
sides frigates and small craft. We joined this 
fleet, and came to an anchor in Basque Roads, 
to assist in the blockade. Our first object was to 
bring a large French fleet, greatly superior to us 
in size and numbers, to an engagement. With 
all our manoeuvring, we could not succeed in 
enticing them from their snug berth in the harbor 
of Brest, where they were safely moored, de- 
fended by a heavy fort, and by a chain crossing 
the harbor, to prevent the ingress of any force that 
might be bold enough to attempt to cut them out. 



118 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

Sometimes we sent a frigate or two as near their 
fort as they dared to venture, in order to entice 
them out ; at other times, the whole fleet would 
get under weigh and stand out to sea ; but with- 
out success. The Frenchmen were either afraid 
we had a larger armament than was visible to 
them, or they had not forgotten the splendid 
victories of Nelson at the Nile and Trafalgar. 
Whatever they thought, they kept their ships 
beyond the reach of our guns. Sometimes, how- 
ever, their frigates would creep outside the forts, 
when we gave them chase, but seldom went 
beyond the exchange of a few harmless shots. 
This was what our men called " boy's play ;" and 
they were heartily glad when we were ordered to 
return to Plymouth. 

After just looking into Plymouth harbor, our 
orders were countermanded, and we returned to 
the coast of France. Having accomplished about 
one half the distance, the man at the mast-head 
cried out, " Sail ho ! " 

" Where away ? " (what direction ?) responded 
the officer of the deck. The man having re- 
plied, the officer again asked, " What does she 
look like?" 

" She looks small; I cannot tell, sir." 
In a few minutes the officer hailed again, by 
shouting, " Mast-head, there ! what does she look 
like?" 

" She looks like a small sail-boat, sir." 

This was rather a novel announcement ; for 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 119 

what could a small sail-boat do out on the wide 
ocean ? But a few minutes convinced us that it 
was even so ; for, from the deck, we could see a 
small boat, with only a man and a boy on board. 
They proved to be two French prisoners of war, 
who had escaped from an English prison, and, 
having stolen a small boat, were endeavoring to 
make this perilous voyage to their native home. 
Poor fellows ! they looked sadly disappointed at 
finding themselves once more in British hands. 
They had already been in prison for some time ; 
they were now doomed to go with us, in sight of 
their own sunny France, and then be torn away 
again, carried to England, and imprisoned until 
the close of the war. No wonder they looked 
sorrowful, when, after having hazarded life for 
home and liberty, they found both snatched from 
them in a moment, by their unlucky rencontre 
with our frigate. I am sure we should all have 
been glad to have missed them. But this is only 
one of the consequences of war. 

Having joined the blockading fleet again, we 
led the same sort of life as before : now at an- 
chor, then giving chase ; now standing in shore, 
and anon standing out to sea; firing, and being 
fired at, without once coming into action. 

Determined to accomplish some exploit or other, 
our captain ordered an attempt to be made at 
cutting out some of the French small craft that 
lay in shore. We were accustomed to send out 
our barges almost every night, in search of what- 



120 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

ever prey they might capture. But on this occa- 
sion the preparations were more formidable than 
usual. The oars were muffled ; the boat's crew 
increased, and every man was armed to the teeth. 
The cots were got ready on board, in case any of 
the adventurers should return wounded. Cots 
are used to sleep in by ward-room officers and 
captains ; midshipmen and sailors using ham- 
mocks. But a number of cots are always kept 
in a vessel of war, for the benefit of wounded 
men ; they differ from a hammock, in being 
square at the bottom, and consequently more 
easy. The service on which the barge was sent 
being extremely dangerous, the cots were got 
ready to receive the wounded, should there be 
any ; but notwithstanding these expressive prepa- 
rations, the brave fellows went off in as fine spirits 
as if they had been going on shore for a drunken 
spree. Such is the contempt of danger that 
prevails among sailors. 

We had no tidings of this adventure until 
morning, when I was startled by hearing three 
cheers from the watch on deck ; these were an- 
swered by three more from a party that seemed 
approaching us. I ran on deck just as our men 
came alongside with their bloodless prize — a lug- 
ger, laden with French brandy, wine and Castile 
soap. They had made this capture without 
difficulty ; for the crew of the lugger made their 
escape in a boat, on the first intimation of danger. 
As this was our first prize, we christened her the 



SIX YEARS IK A MAN OF WAR. 122 

Young Macedonian. She was sent to the admi- 
ral ; but what became of her, I never heard. 

Before sending her away, however, the officers? 
having a peculiar itching for some of the brandy , 
took the liberty of replenishing their empty bottles 
from the hold. This, with true aristocratic liber- 
ality, they kept to themselves, without offering 
the smallest portion to the crew. Some of them 
showed, by their conduct afterwards, that this 
brandy possessed considerable strength. We had 
no further opportunity to signalize either ourselves 
or our frigate by our heroism at Brest ; for we 
were soon after ordered back to Plymouth, where, 
for a short time, we lay at our old anchorage 
ground, 

11 



CHAPTER VI. 

Rumor of war — A great mistake — Departure from Torbay 
with a convoy — A strict look-out — Sabbath at sea — A 
sail — Hands beat to quarters — Battle between the Mace- 
donian and the United States — Awful destruction of 
life — Surrender of the Macedonian — Copy of a letter 
from Captain Garden, to the British admiralty office, 
describing the action, with a list of the killed and 
wounded. 

At Plymouth we heard some vague rumors of 
a declaration of war against America. More than 
this, we could not learn, since the utmost care was 
taken to prevent our being fully informed. The 
reason of this secrecy was, probably, because we 
had several Americans in our crew, most of whom 
were pressed men, as before stated. These men, 
had they been certain that war had broken out, 
would have given themselves up as prisoners of 
war, and claimed exemption from that unjust ser- 
vice, which compelled them to act with the ene- 
mies of their country. This was a privilege 
which the magnanimity of our officers ought to 
have offered them. They had already perpetrated 
a grievous wrong upon them in impressing them ; 
it was adding cruelty to injustice, to compel their 
service in a war against their own nation. But 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 123 

the difficulty with naval officers is, that they do 
not treat with a sailor as with a man. They 
know what is fitting between each other as offi- 
cers ; hut they treat their crews on another prin- 
ciple ; they are apt to look at them as pieces of 
living mechanism, horn to serve, to obey their 
orders, and administer to their wishes without 
complaint. This is alike a bad morality and a bad 
philosoph}^ There is often more real manhood 
in the forecastle than in the ward-room ; and until 
the common sailor is treated as a man, until every 
feeling of human nature is conceded to him in 
naval discipline — perfect, rational subordination 
will never be attained in ships of war, or in mer- 
chant vessels. It is needless to tell of the intel- 
lectual degradation of the mass of seamen. " A 
man 's a man for a' that ;" and it is this very sys- 
tem of discipline, this treating them as automatons,, 
which keeps them degraded. When will human 
nature put more confidence in itself? 

Leaving Plymouth, we next anchored, for a 
brief space, at Torbay, a small port in the British 
Channel. We were ordered thence to convoy a 
huge East India merchant vessel, much larger 
than our frigate, and having five hundred troops 
on board, bound to the East Indies, with money to 
pay the troops stationed there. We set sail in a 
tremendous gale of wind. Both ships stopped 
two days at Madeira to take in wine and a few 
other articles. After leaving this island, we kept 
her company two days more ; and then, according- 



124 A VOICE FROI\I THE MAIN DECK. 

to orders, having wished her success, we left her 
to pursue her voyage, while we returned to finish 
our cruise. 

Though without any positive information, we 
now felt pretty certain that our government was 
at war with America. Among other things, our 
captain appeared more anxious than usual ; he was 
on deck almost all the time ; the " look-out" aloft 
was more rigidly observed ; and every little while 
the cry of " Mast-head there ! " arrested our at- 
tention. 

It is customary in men of war to keep men at 
the fore and main mast-heads, whose duty it is to 
give notice of every new object that may appear. 
They are stationed in the royal yards, if they are 
up, but if not, on the top-gallant yards : at night a 
look-out is kept on the fore yard only. 

Thus we passed several days ; the captain run- 
ning up and down, and constantly hailing the man 
at the mast-head : early in the morning he began 
his charge " to keep a good look-out," and contin- 
ued to repeat it until night. Indeed, he seemed 
almost crazy with some pressing anxiety. The 
men felt there was something anticipated, of which 
they were ignorant ; and had the captain heard all 
their remarks upon his conduct, he would not 
have felt very highly flattered. Still, everything 
went on as usual ; the day was spent in the ordi- 
nary duties of man-of-war life, and the evening 
in telling stories of things most rare and wonder- 
ful ; for your genuine old tar is an adept in spin- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 125 

ning yarns, and some of them, in respect to variety 
and length, might safely aspire to a place beside 
the great magician of the north, Sir Walter Scott 7 
or any of those prolific heads that now bring forth 
such abundance of fiction to feed a greedy public? 
who read as eagerly as our men used to listen. 
To this yarn-spinning was added the most humor- 
ous singing, sometimes dashed with a streak of 
the pathetic, which I assure my readers was most 
touching; especially one very plaintive melody 5 
with a chorus beginning with, 

" Now if our ship should be cast away, 
It would be our lot to see old England no more/' 

which made rather a melancholy impression on 
my boyish mind, and gave rise to a sort of presen- 
timent that the Macedonian would never return 
home again ; a presentiment which had its fulfil- 
ment in a manner totally unexpected to us all. 
The presence of a shark for several days, with its 
attendant pilot fish, tended to strengthen this prev- 
alent idea. 

The Sabbath came, and it brought with it a 
stiff breeze. "We usually made a sort of holiday of 
this sacred day. After breakfast it was common 
to muster the entire crew on the spar deck, dressed 
as the fancy of the captain might dictate ; some- 
times in blue jackets and white trowsers, or blue 
jackets and blue trowsers ; at other times in blue 
jackets, scarlet vests, and blue or white trowsers ; 
with our bright anchor buttons glancing in the 
11* 



126 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

sun, and our black, glossy hats, ornamented witn 
black ribbons, and with the name of our ship 
painted on them. After muster, we frequently had 
church service read by the captain ; the rest of the 
day was devoted to idleness. But we were des- 
tined to spend the Sabbath, just introduced to the 
reader, in a very different manner. 

We had scarcely finished breakfast, before the 
man at the mast-head shouted, " Sail ho ! " 

The captain rushed upon deck, exclaiming, 
" Mast-head there ! " 

"Sir!" 

" Where away is the sail ? " 

The precise answer to this question I do not 
recollect, but the captain proceeded to ask, " What 
does she look like ? " 

" A square-rigged vessel, sir," was the reply 
of the look-out. 

After a few minutes, the captain shouted again, 
" Mast-head there ! " 

" Sir ! " 

" What does she look like ? " 

" A large ship, sir, standing toward us ! " 

By this time, most of the crew were on deck, 
eagerly straining their eyes to obtain a glimpse 
of the approaching ship, and murmuring their 
opinions to each other on her probable character. 
Then came the voice of the captain, shouting, 
" Keep silence, fore and aft ! " Silence being 
secured, he hailed the look-out, who, to his ques- 
tion of " What does she look like ? " replied, " A 
large frigate, bearing down upon us, sir ! " 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAE. 127 

A whisper ran along the crew that the stran- 
ger ship was a Yankee frigate. The thought 
was confirmed by the command of " All hands 
clear the ship for action, ahoy ! " The drum and 
fife beat to quarters ; bulk-heads were knocked 
away; the guns were released from their con- 
finement ; the whole dread paraphernalia of battle 
was produced ; and after the lapse of a few min- 
utes of hurry and confusion, every man and boy 
was at his post, ready to do his best service for 
his country, except the band, who, claiming ex- 
emption from the affray, safely stowed themselves 
away in the cable tier. We had only one sick 
man on the list, and he> at the cry of battle, hur- 
ried from his cot, feeble as he w T as, to take his 
post of danger. A few of the junior midshipmen 
were stationed below, on the berth deck, with 
orders, given in our hearing, to shoot any man 
who attempted to run from his quarters. 

Our men were all in good spirits ; though they 
did not scruple to express the wish that the com- 
ing foe was a Frenchman rather than a Yankee* 
We had been told, by the Americans on board s 
that frigates in the American service carried more 
and heavier metal than ours. This, together with 
our consciousness of superiority over the French 
at sea, led us to a preference for a French antag- 
onist. 

The Americans among our number felt quite 
disconcerted, at the necessity which compelled 
them to fight against their own countrymen. 



128 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

One of them, named John Card, as brave a sea- 
man as ever trod a plank, ventured to present 
himself to the captain, as a prisoner, frankly 
declaring his objections to fight. That officer, 
very ungenerously, ordered him to his quarters, 
threatening to shoot him if he made the request 
again. Poor fellow 1 He obeyed the unjust com- 
mand, and was killed by a shot from his own 
countrymen. This fact is more disgraceful to the 
captain of the Macedonian, than even the loss of 
his ship. It was a gross and a palpable violation 
of the rights of man. 

As the approaching ship showed American 
colors, all doubt of her character was at an end. 
" We must fight her," was the conviction of every 
breast. Every possible arrangement that could 
insure success, was accordingly made. The guns 
were shotted ; the matches lighted ; for, although 
our guns were all furnished with first-rate locks, 
they were also provided with matches, attached 
by lanyards, in case the lock should miss fire. A 
lieutenant then passed through the ship, directing 
the marines and boarders, who were furnished 
with pikes, cutlasses, and pistols, how to proceed 
if it should be necessary to board the enemy. He 
was followed by the captain, who exhorted the 
men to fidelity and courage, urging upon their 
consideration the well-known motto of the brave 
Nelson, " England expects every man to do his 
duty." In addition to all these preparations on 
deck, some men were stationed in the tops with 



SIX YEAHS IN A MAN OF WAR, 129 

small-arms, whose duty it was to attend to trim- 
ming the sails, and to use their muskets, provided 
we came to close action. There were others also 
below, called sail trimmers, to assist in working the 
ship, should it be necessary to shift her position 
during the battle. 

My station was at the fifth gun on the main 
deck. It was my duty to supply my gun with 
powder, a boy being appointed to each gun in the 
ship on the side we engaged, for this purpose. A 
woollen screen was placed before the entrance tc> 
the magazine, with a hole in it, through which the 
cartridges were passed to the boys ; we received 
them there, and covering them with our jackets? 
hurried to our respective guns. These precau- 
tions are observed to prevent the powder taking 
fire before it reaches the gun. 

Thus we all stood, awaiting orders, in motion- 
less suspense. At last we fired three guns from 
the larboard side of the main deck ; this was fol- 
lowed by the command, " Cease firing ; you are 
throwing away your shot ! " 

Then came the order to " wear ship," and pre- 
pare to attack the enemy with our starboard guns. 
Soon after this I heard a firing from some other 
quarter, which I at first supposed to be a dis- 
charge from our quarter deck guns ; though it 
proved to be the roar of the enemy's cannon. 

A strange noise, such as I had never heard 
before, next arrested my attention ; it sounded 
like the tearing of sails, just over our heads. This 



130 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

I soon ascertained to be the wind of the enemy's 
shot. The firing, after a few minutes'' cessation, 
recommenced. The roaring of cannon could now 
he heard from all parts of our trembling ship, and, 
mingling as it did with that of our foes, it made 
a most hideous noise. By-and-by I heard the shot 
strike the sides of our ship ; the whole scene grew 
indescribably confused and horrible ; it was like 
some awfully tremendous thunder-storm, whose 
deafening roar is attended by incessant streaks 
of lightning, carrying death in every flash, and 
strewing the ground with the victims of its wrath : 
only, in our case, the scene was rendered more 
horrible than that, by the presence of torrents of 
Mood which dyed our decks. 

Though the recital may be painful, yet, as it 
will reveal the horrors of war, and show at what a 
fearful price a victory is won or lost, I will pre- 
sent the reader with things as they met my eye 
during the progress of this dreadful fight. I was 
busily supplying my gun with powder, when I 
saw blood suddenly fly from the arm of a man 
stationed at our gun. I saw nothing strike him ; 
the effect alone was visible ; in an instant, the 
third lieutenant tied his handkerchief round the 
wounded arm, and sent the groaning wretch below 
to the surgeon. 

The cries of the wounded now rang through all 
paTts of the ship. These were carried to the 
■cockpit as fast as they fell, while those more for- 
tunate men, who were killed outright, were mime- 



SIX YEARS TN A MAN OF WAK. 13% 

diately thrown overboard. As I was stationed 
but a short distance from the main hatchway, I 
could catch a glance at all who were carried 
below. A glance was all I could indulge in, for 
the boys belonging to the guns next to mine were 
wounded in the early part of the action, and I had 
to spring with all my might to keep three or four 
guns supplied with cartridges, I saw two of these 
lads fall nearly together. One of them was 
struck in the leg by a large shot ; he had to suffer 
amputation above the wound. The other had a 
grape or canister shot sent through his ancle. A 
stout Yorkshireman lifted him in his arms, and 
hurried him to the cockpit. He had his foot cut 
off, and was thus made lame for life. Two of the 
boys stationed on the quarter deck were killed. 
They were both Portuguese. A man, who saw one 
of them killed, afterwards told me that his powder 
caught fire and burnt the flesh almost off his face. 
In this pitiable situation, the agonized boy lifted 
up both hands, as if imploring relief, when a 
passing shot instantly cut him in two. 

I was an eye-witness to a sight equally revolting. 
A man named Aldrich had one of his hands cut 
off by a shot, and almost at the same moment he 
received another shot, which tore open his bowels 
in a terrible manner. As he fell, two or three 
men caught him in their arms, and, as he could 
not live, threw him overboard. 

One of the officers in my division also fell in 
my sight. He was a noble-hearted fellow, named 



132 A VOICE PROM THE MAIN DECK, 

Nan Kivell. A grape or canister shot struck him. 
near the heart : exclaiming, " Oh ! my God ! " he 
fell, and was carried below, where he shortly after 
died. 

Mr. Hope, our first lieutenant, was also slightly 
wounded by a grummet, or small iron ring, prob- 
ably torn from a hammock cl?w by a shot. He 
went below, shouting to the men to fight on. 
Having had his wound dressed, he came up again, 
shouting to us at the top of his voice, and bidding 
us fight with all our might. There was not a 
man in the ship but would have rejoiced had he 
been in the place of our master's mate, the unfor- 
tunate Nan Kivell. 

The battle went on. Our men kept cheering 
with all their might. I cheered with them, 
though I confess I scarcely knew for what. Cer- 
tainly there was nothing very inspiriting in the 
aspect of things where I was stationed. So ter- 
rible had been the work of destruction round us, 
it was termed the slaughter-house. Not only had 
we had several boys and men killed or wounded, 
but several of the guns were disabled. The one 
I belonged to had a piece of the muzzle knocked 
out ; and when the ship rolled, it struck a beam 
of the upper deck with such force as to become 
jammed and fixed in that position. A twenty- 
four pound shot had also passed through the 
screen of the magazine, immediately over the ori- 
fice through which we passed our powder. The 
schoolmaster received a death wound. The brave 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 133 

boatswain, who came from the sick bay to the din 
of battle, was fastening a stopper on a back-stay 
which had been shot away, when his head was 
smashed to pieces by a cannon-ball ; another man, 
going to complete the unfinished task, was also 
struck down. Another of our midshipmen also 
received a severe wound. The unfortunate ward- 
room steward, who, the reader will recollect, at- 
tempted to cut his throat on a former occasion, 
was killed. A fellow named John, who, for some 
petty offence, had been sent on board as a punish- 
ment, was carried past me, wounded. I distinctly 
heard the large blood-drops fall pat, pat, pat, on 
the deck ; his wounds were mortal. Even a poor 
goat, kept by the officers for her milk, did not 
escape the general carnage ; her hind legs were 
shot off, and poor Nan was thrown overboard. 

Such was the terrible scene, amid which we 
kept on our shouting and firing. Our men fought 
like tigers. Some of them pulled off their jackets, 
others their jackets and vests ; while some, still 
more determined, had taken off their shirts, and, 
with nothing but a handkerchief tied round the 
waistbands of their trowsers, fought like heroes. 
Jack Sadler, whom the reader will recollect, was 
one of these. I also observed a boy, named Cooper, 
stationed at a gun some distance from the maga- 
zine. He came to and fro on the full run, and 
appeared to be as "merry as a cricket." The 
third lieutenant cheered him along, occasionally, 
12 



134 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

by saying, " Well done, my boy, you are worth 
your weight in gold." 

I have often been asked what were my feelings 
during this fight. I felt pretty much as I suppose 
every one does at such a time. That men are with- 
out thought when they stand amid the dying and the 
dead, is too absurd an idea to be entertained a mo- 
ment. We all appeared cheerful, but I know that 
many a serious thought ran through my mind : still, 
what could we do but keep up a semblance, at least, 
of animation ? To run from our quarters would 
have been certain death from the hands of our own 
officers ; to give way to gloom, or to show fear, 
would do no good, and might brand us with the 
name of cowards, and ensure certain defeat. Our 
only true philosophy, therefore, was to make the 
best of our situation, by fighting bravely and cheer- 
fully. I thought a great deal, however, of the other 
world ; every groan, every falling man, told me that 
the next instant I might be before the Judge of all 
the earth. For this, I felt unprepared; but being 
without any particular knowledge of religious 
truth, I satisfied myself by repeating again and 
again the Lord's prayer, and promising that if 
spared I would be more attentive to religious duties 
than ever before. This promise I had no doubt, at 
the time, of keeping ; but I have learned since that 
it is easier to make promises amidst the roar of the 
battle's thunder, or in the horrors of shipwreck, 
than to keep them when danger is absent, and 
safety smiles upon our path. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 135 

While these thoughts secretly agitated my 
bosom, the din of battle continued. Grape and 
canister shot were pouring through our port- 
holes like leaden rain, carrying death in their 
trail. The large shot came against the ship's 
side like iron hail, shaking her to the very keel? 
or passing through her timbers, and scattering- 
terrific splinters, which did a more appalling work 
than even their own death-giving blows. The 
reader may form an idea of the effect of grape 
and canister, when he is told that grape shot is 
formed by seven or eight balls confined to an iron 
and tied in a cloth. These balls are scattered by 
the explosion of the powder. Canister shot is 
made by filling a powder canister with balls, each 
as large as two or three musket balls ; these also 
scatter with direful effect when discharged. What 
then with splinters, cannon balls, grape and can- 
ister poured incessantly upon us, the reader may 
be assured that the work of death went on in a man- 
ner which must have been satisfactory even to the 
King of Terrors himself. 

Suddenly, the rattling of the iron hail ceased. 
We were ordered to cease firing. A profound 
silence ensued, broken only by the stifled groans 
of the brave sufferers below. It was soon ascer- 
tained that the enemy had shot ahead to repair 
damages, for she was not so disabled but she could 
sail without difficulty ; while we were so cut up 
that we lay utterly helpless. Our head braces 
were shot away; the fore and main top-masts 



136 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

were gone ; the mizzen mast hung over the stern, 
having carried several men over in its fall : we 
were in the state of a complete wreck. 

A council was now held among the officers on 
the quarter deck. Our condition was perilous in 
the extreme : victory or escape was alike hope- 
less. Our ship was disabled ; many of our men 
were killed, and many more wounded. The 
enemy would without doubt bear down upon us 
in a few moments, and, as she could now choose 
her own position, would without doubt rake us 
fore and aft. Any further resistance was there- 
fore folly. So, in spite of the hot-brained lieu- 
tenant, Mr. Hope, who advised them not to strike, 
but to sink alongside, it was determined to strike 
our bunting. This was done by the hands of a 
brave fellow named Watson, whose saddened 
brow told how severely it pained his lion heart to 
do it. To me it was a pleasing sight, for I had 
seen fighting enough for one Sabbath ; more than 
I wished to see again on a week day. His 
Britannic Majesty's frigate Macedonian was now 
the prize of the American frigate United States. 

Before detailing the subsequent occurrences in 
my history, I will present the curious reader with 
a copy of Captain Carden's letter to the govern- 
ment, describing this action. It will serve to show 
how he excused himself for his defeat, as well as 
throw some light on those parts of the contest 
which were invisible to me at my station. My 
mother presented me with this document, on my 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 137 

return to England. She had received it from 
Lord Churchill, and had carefully preserved it 
for twenty years. 

" Admiralty Office, Dec. 29, 1812. 
" Copy of a letter from Captain John Surman 
Carden, late commander of His Majesty's ship 
the Macedonian, to John Wilson Croker, Esq., 
dated on board the American ship United States, 
at sea, the 28th October, 1812 : — 

" Sir : It is with the deepest regret, I have to 
acquaint you, for the information of my Lords 
Commissioners of the Admiralty, that His Majes- 
ty's late ship Macedonian was captured on the 
25th instant, by the United States ship United 
States, Commodore Decatur commander. The 
detail is as follows : 

" A short time after daylight, steering N. "W. by 
W., with the wind from the southward, in latitude 
29° N., and longitude 29° 30' W., in the execu- 
tion of their Lordships' orders, a sail was seen 
on the lee beam, which I immediately stood for, 
and made her out to be a large frigate, under 
American colors. At nine o'clock I closed with 
her, and she commenced the action, which we 
returned ; but from the enemy keeping two points 
off the wind, I was not enabled to get as close to 
her as I could have wished. After an hour's 
action, the enemy backed and came to the wind, 
and I was then enabled to bring her to close 
battle. In this situation I soon found the enemy's 
12* 



138 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

force too superior to expect success, unless some 
very fortunate chance occurred in our favor ; and 
with this hope I continued the battle to two hours 
and ten minutes ; when, having the mizzen mast 
shot away by the board, topmasts shot away by the 
caps, main yard shot in pieces, lower masts badly 
wounded, lower rigging all cut to pieces, a small 
proportion only of the fore-sail left to the fore- 
yard, all the guns on the quarter deck and fore- 
castle disabled but two, and filled with wreck, two 
also on the main deck disabled, and several shot 
between wind and water, a very great proportion 
of the crew killed and wounded, and the enemy 
comparatively in good order, who had now shot 
ahead, and was about to place himself in a raking 
position, without our being enabled to return the 
fire, being a perfect wreck and unmanageable log ; 
I deemed it prudent, though a painful extremity* 
to surrender His Majesty's ship; nor was this 
dreadful alternative resorted to till every hope of 
success was removed, even beyond the reach of 
chance ; nor till, I trust their Lordships will be 
aware, every effort had been made against the 
enemy by myself, and my brave officers and men, 
nor should she have been surrendered whilst a 
man lived oh board, had she been manageable. 
I am sorry to say our loss is very severe ; I find 
by this day's muster, thirty-six killed, three of 
whom lingered a short time after the battle ; thirty- 
six severely wounded, many of whom cannot 
recover, and thirty-two slightly wounded, who 
may all do well ; total, one hundred and four 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 139 

u The truly noble and animating conduct of my 
officers, and the steady bravery of my crew, to the 
last moment of the battle, must ever render them 
dear to their country. 

" My first lieutenant, David Hope, was severely 
wounded in the head, towards the close of the 
battle, and taken below ; but was soon again on 
deck, displaying that greatness of mind and exer- 
tion, which, though it may be equalled, can never 
be excelled. The third lieutenant, John Bulford, 
was also wounded, but not obliged to quit his 
quarters ; second lieutenant, Samuel Mottley, and 
he deserves my highest acknowledgments. The 
cool and steady conduct of Mr. Walker, the mas- 
ter, was very great during the battle, as also 
that of Lieutenants Wilson and Magill, of the 
marines. 

" On being taken on board the enemy's ship, I 
ceased to wonder at the result of the battle. 
The United States is built with the scantling 
of a seventy-four gun-ship, mounting thirty long 
twenty-four pounders (English ship-guns) on her 
main deck, and twenty-two forty-two pounders, 
carronades, with two long twenty-four pounders, 
on her quarter deck and forecastle, howitzer guns 
in her tops, and a travelling carronade on her 
upper deck, with a complement of four hundred 
and seventy-eight picked men. 

" The enemy has suffered much in masts, rig- 
ging, and hull, above and below water. Her loss 
in killed and wounded I am not aware of; but I 



140 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

know a lieutenant and six men have been thrown 
overboard. Jno. S. Carden. 

"To J. W. Croker, Esq., Admiralty." 

Lord Churchill sent the above letter, with a list 
of the killed and wounded annexed, to inform 
my mother that the name of her son was not 
among the number. The act shows how much 
he could sympathize with a mother's feelings. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Scenes In the cockpit and steerage, after the battle — Arri- 
val of the victors on board — Part of our crew taken on 
board the United States — Good feeling between all par- 
ties — Macedonian refitted — Meeting of the two com- 
manders — Sailing qualities of the United States inferior 
to the Macedonian — Difference in force and metal be- 
tween the two frigates — The influence of motives in 
favor of the Americans — Arrival at Newport — Burial 
of Thomas Whittaker — The wounded taken on shore — 
Visitors at Hurl-gate — Christmas day — The author 
escapes from the Macedonian — Reaches New York — 
Boards at a widow's in the city — Good news — Celebra- 
tion of Decatur's victory — Decatur's wife — Account of 
the fortunes of several of the prisoners who ran away. 

I now went below, to see how matters appeared 
there. The first object I met was a man bearing 
a limb, which had just been detached from some 
suffering wretch. Pursuing my way to the ward- 
room, I necessarily passed through the steerage, 
which was strewed with the wounded : it was a 
sad spectacle, made more appalling by the groans 
and cries which rent the air. Some were groan- 
ing, others were swearing most bitterly, a few 
were praying, while those last arrived were beg- 
ging most piteously to have their wounds dressed 



142 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

next. The surgeon and his mate were smeared 
with blood from head to foot : they looked more 
like butchers than doctors. Having so many 
patients, they had once shifted their quarters from 
the cockpit to the steerage ; they now removed 
to the ward -room, and the long table, round which 
the officers had sat over many a merry feast, was 
soon covered with the bleeding forms of maimed 
and mutilated seamen. 

While looking round the ward-room, I heard 
a noise above, occasioned by the arrival of the 
boats from the conquering frigate. Very soon a 
lieutenant, I think his name was Nicholson, came 
into the ward-room, and said to the busy surgeon, 
" How do you do, doctor ? " 

" I have enough to do," replied he, shaking 
his head thoughtfully ; " you have made wretched 
work for us ! " These officers were not strangers 
to each other, for the reader will recollect that the 
commanders and officers of these two frigates, had 
exchanged visits when we were lying at Norfolk, 
some months before. 

I now set to work to render all the aid in my 
power to the sufferers. Our carpenter, named 
Keed, had his leg cut off. I helped to carry him 
to the after ward-room ; but he soon breathed out 
his life there, and then I assisted in throwing his 
mangled remains overboard. We got out the 
cots as fast as possible; for most of them were 
stretched out on the gory deck. One poor fellow 
who lay with a broken thigh, begged me to give 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 143 

him water. I gave him some. He looked unut- 
terable gratitude, drank, and died. It was with 
exceeding difficulty I moved through the steerage, 
it was so covered with mangled men, and so 
slippery with streams of blood. There was a 
poor boy there crying as if his heart would break. 
He had been servant to the bold boatswain, whose 
head was dashed to pieces. Poor boy! he felt 
that he had lost a friend. I tried to comfort him 
by reminding him that he ought to be thankful 
for having escaped death himself. 

Here, also, I met one of my messmates, who 
showed the utmost joy at seeing me alive, for, he 
said, he had heard that I was killed. He was 
looking up his messmates, which he said was 
always done by sailors. We found two of our 
mess wounded. One was the Swede, Logholm, 
who fell overboard, as mentioned in a former 
chapter, and was nearly lost. We held him 
while the surgeon cut off his leg above the knee. 
The task was most painful to behold, the surgeon 
using his knife and saw on human flesh and 
bones, as freely as the butcher at the shambles 
does on the carcass of the beast! Our other 
messmate suffered still more than the Swede ; he 
was sadly mutilated about the legs and thighs 
with splinters. Such scenes of suffering as I saw 
in that ward-room, I hope never to Avitness again. 
Could the civilized world behold them as they 
were, and as they often are, infinitely worse than 
on that occasion, it seems to me they would for- 



144 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

ever put down the barbarous practices of war, by 
universal consent. 

Most of our officers and men were taken on 
board the victor ship. I was left, with a few 
others, to take care of the wounded. My master,. 
the sailing-master, was also among the officers, 
who continued in their ship. Most of the men 
who remained were unfit for any service, having 
broken into the spirit-room and made themselves 
drunk ; some of them broke into the purser's 
room and helped themselves to clothing; while 
others, by previous agreement, took possession of 
their dead messmates' property. For my own 
part, I was content to help myself to a little of the 
officers' provisions, which did me more good than 
could be obtained from rum. What was worse 
than all, however, was the folly of the sailors in 
giving spirit to their wounded messmates, since 
it only served to aggravate their distress. 

Among the wounded, was a brave fellow named 
Wells. After the surgeon had amputated and 
dressed his arm, he walked about in fine spirits, 
as if he had received only a slight injury. In- 
deed, while under the operation, he manifested a 
similar heroism — observing to the surgeon, "I 
have lost my arm in the service of my country ; 
but I don't mind it, doctor, it 's the fortune of 
war." Cheerful and gay as he was, he soon 
died. His companions gave him rum ; he was 
attacked by fever and died. Thus his messmates 
actually killed him with kindness. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 145, 

We had all sorts of dispositions and tempera- 
ments among our crew. To me it was a matter 
of great interest to watch their various manifes- 
tations. Some who had lost their messmates 
appeared to care nothing about it, while others 
were grieving with all the tenderness of women. 
Of these, was the survivor of two seamen, who 
had formerly been soldiers in the same regiment ; 
he bemoaned the loss of his comrade with expres- 
sions of profoundest grief. There were, also, two 
boatswain's mates, named Adams and Brown, who 
had been messmates for several years in the same 
ship. Brown was killed, or so wounded that he 
died soon after the battle. It was really a touch- 
ing spectacle to see the rough, hardy features of 
the brave old sailor streaming with tears, as he 
picked out the dead body of his friend from among 
the wounded, and gently carried it to the ship's 
side, saying to the inanimate form he bore, " O 
Bill, we have sailed together in a number of 
ships, we have been in many gales and some bat- 
tles, but this is the worst day I have seen ! We 
must now part ! " Here he dropped the body into 
the deep, and then, a fresh torrent of tears stream- 
ing over his weather-beaten face, he added, " I 
can do no more for you. Farew T ell ! God be 
with you ! " Here was an instance of genuine 
friendship, worth more than the heartless profes- 
sions of thousands, who, in the fancied superiority 
of their elevated position in the social circle, will 
13 



146 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

deign nothing but a silly sneer at this record of a 
sailor's grief. 

The circumstance was rather a singular one, 
that in both the contending frigates the second 
boatswain's mate bore the name of William Brown, 
and that they both were killed ; yet such was the 
fact. 

The great number of the wounded kept our 
surgeon and his mate busily employed at their 
horrid work until late at night ; and it was a long 
time before they had much leisure. I remember 
passing round the ship the day after the battle. 
Coming to a hammock, I found some one in it 
apparently asleep. I spoke ; he made no answer. 
I looked into the hammock; he was dead. My 
messmates coming up, we threw the corpse over- 
board; that was no time for useless ceremony. 
The man had probably crawled to his hammock 
the day before, and, not being perceived in the 
general distress, bled to death ! War ! who 
can reveal thy miseries ! 

When the crew of the United States first 
boarded our frigate, to take possession of her as 
their prize, our men, heated with the fury of the 
battle, exasperated with the sight of their dead 
and wounded shipmates, and rendered furious by 
the rum they had obtained from the spirit-room, 
felt and exhibited some disposition to fight their 
captors. But after the confusion had subsided, 
and part of our men were snugly stowed away in 
the American ship, and the remainder found 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 147 

themselves kindly used in their own, the utmost 
good feeling began to prevail. "We took hold and 
cleansed the ship, using hot vinegar to take out 
the scent of the blood that had dyed the white of 
our planks with crimson. We also took hold 
and aided in fitting our disabled frigate for her 
voyage. This being accomplished, both ships 
sailed in company toward the American coast. 

I soon felt myself perfectly at home with the 
American seamen ; so much so, that I chose to 
mess with them. My shipmates also participated 
in similar feelings in both ships. All idea that 
we had been trying to shoot out each other's 
brains so shortly before, seemed forgotten. We 
eat together, drank together, joked, sung, laughed, 
told yarns ; in short, a perfect union of ideas, 
feelings, and purposes, seemed to exist among all 
hands. 

A corresponding state of unanimity existed, I 
was told, among the officers. Commodore Deca- 
tur showed himself to be a gentleman as well as 
a hero in his treatment of the officers of the Mace- 
donian. When Captain Carden offered his sword 
to the commodore, remarking, as he did so, " I am 
an undone man. I am the first British naval 
officer that has struck his flag to an American :" 
the noble commodore either refused to receive the 
sword, or immediately returned it, smiling as he 
said, " You are mistaken, sir ; your Guerriere has 
been taken by us, and the flag of a frigate was 
struck before yours." This somewhat revived the 



148 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK* 

spirits of the old captain ; bat, no doubt, he still 
felt his soul stung with shame and mortification 
at the loss of his ship. Participating as he did in 
the haughty spirit of the British aristocracy, it was 
natural for him to feel galled and wounded to the 
quick, in the position of a conquered man. 

We were now making the best of our way to 
America. Notwithstanding the patched-up condi- 
tion of the Macedonian, she was far superior, in a 
sailing capacity, to her conqueror. The United 
States had always been a dull sailer, and had 
been christened by the name of the Old Wagon. 
Whenever a boat came alongside of our frigate, 
and the boatswain's mate was ordered to " pipe 
away " the boat's crew, he used to sound his 
shrill call on the whistle, and bawl out, " Away, 
Wagoners, away," instead of "away, United 
States men, away." This piece of pleasantry 
used to be rebuked by the officers, but in a man- 
ner that showed they enjoyed the joke. They 
usually replied, " Boatswain's mate, you rascal, 
pipe away United States men, not Wagoners. 
We have no wagoners on board of a ship." Still, 
in spite of rebuke, the joke went on, until it grew 
stale by repetition. One thing was made certain 
however by the sailing qualities of the Macedo- 
nian ; which was, that if we had oeen disposed 
to escape from our foe before the action, we could 
have done so with all imaginable ease. This, 
however, would have justly exposed us to dis- 
grace, while our capture did not. There was 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 149 

every reason why the United States should beat 
us. She was larger in size, heavier in metal, 
more numerous in men, and stronger built than 
the Macedonian. Another fact in her favor was, 
that our captain at first mistook her for the 
Essex, which carried short carronades, hence he 
engaged her at long shot at first ; for, as we had 
the weather gage, we could take what position 
we pleased. But this manoeuvre only wasted our 
shot, and gave her the advantage, as she actually 
carried larger metal than we did. When we 
came to close action, the shot from the United 
States went "through and through" our ship, 
while ours struck her sides, and fell harmlessly 
into the water. This is to be accounted for both 
by the superiority of the metal and of the ship. 
Her guns were heavier and her sides thicker than 
ours. Some have said that her sides were stuffed 
with cork. Of this, however, I am not certain. 
Her superiority, both in number of men and guns, 
may easily be seen by the following statistics. 
We carried forty-nine guns ; long eighteen-pound- 
ers on the main deck, and thirty-two pound car- 
ronades on the quarter deck and forecastle. Our 
whole number of hands, including officers, men 
and boys, was three hundred. The United States 
carried four hundred and fifty men and fifty-four 
guns : long twenty-four pounders on the main 
deck, and forty-two pound carronades on the 
quarter deck and forecastle. So that in actual 
force she was immensely our superior. 
13* 



150 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

To these should be added the consideration that 
the men in the two ships fought under the influ- 
ence of different motives. Many of our hands 
were in the service against their will ; some of 
them were Americans, wrongfully impressed, and 
inwardly hoping for defeat: while nearly every 
man in our ship sympathized with the great prin- 
ciple for which the American nation so nobly 
contended in the war of 1812. What that was, 
I suppose all my readers understand. The Brit- 
ish, at war with France, had denied the Ameri- 
cans the right to trade thither. She had impressed 
American seamen, and forcibly compelled their 
service in her navy ; she had violated the Ameri- 
can flag by insolently searching their vessels for 
her runaway seamen. Free trade and sailors' 
rights, therefore, were the objects contended for 
by the Americans. With these objects our men 
could but sympathize, whatever our officers might 
do. 

On the other hand, the crew of our opponent 
had all shipped voluntarily for the term of two 
years only ; (most of our men were shipped for" 
life.) They understood what they fought for; 
they were better used in the service. What 
wonder, then, that victory adorned the brows of 
the American commander ? To have been defeat- 
ed under such circumstances would have been a 
source of lasting infamy to any naval officer in 
the world. In the matter of fighting, I think 
there is but little difference in either nation. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 151 

Place them in action under equal circumstances 
and motives, and who could predict which would 
be victor? Unite them together, they would 
subject the whole world. So close are the alli- 
ances of blood, however, between England and 
America, that it is to be earnestly desired, they 
may never meet in mortal strife again. If either 
will fight, which is to be deprecated as a crime 
and a folly, let it choose an enemy less connected 
by the sacred ties of consanguinity. 

Our voyage was one of considerable excitement. 
The seas swarmed with British cruisers, and it 
was extremely doubtful whether the United States 
would elude their grasp, and reach the protection 
of an American port with her prize. I hoped 
most sincerely to avoid them, as did most of my 
old shipmates ; in this we agreed with our cap- 
tors, who wisely desired to dispose of one con- 
quest before they attempted another. Our former 
officers, of course, were anxious for the sight of a 
British flag. But we saw none, and, after a pros- 
perous voyage from the scene of conflict, we 
heard the welcome cry of " Land ho!" The 
United States entered the port of New London ; 
but, owing to a sudden shift of the wind, the Mace- 
donian had to lay off and on for several hours. 
Had an English cruiser found us in this situation, 
we should have been easily recovered ; and, as it 
was extremely probable we should fall in with 
one, I felt quite uneasy, until, after several hours, 
we made out to run into the pretty harbor of 



152 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

Newport. We fired a salute as we came to an 
anchor, which was promptly returned by the peo- 
ple on shore. 

With a few exceptions, our wounded men were 
in a fair way to recover by the time we reached 
Newport. The last of them, who died of their 
wounds on board, was buried just before we got 
in. His name was Thomas Whittaker ; he had 
been badly wounded by splinters. While he 
lived, he endured excessive torture. At last his 
sufferings rendered him crazy, in which sad state 
he died. He was sewed up in his hammock, by 
his messmates, and carried on a grating to the 
larboard bow port. There Mr. Archer, a mid- 
shipman of the Macedonian, read the beautiful 
burial service of the church of England. When he 
came to that most touching passage, " we commit 
the^body of our brother to the deep," the grat- 
ing was elevated, and, amid the most profound 
silence, the body fell heavily into the waters. As 
it dropped into the deep, a sigh escaped from 
many a friendly bosom, and an air of passing mel- 
ancholy shrouded many a face with sadness. Old 
recollections were busy there, calling up the losses 
of the battle ; but it was only momentary. The 
men brushed away their tears, muttered " It 's no 
use to fret," and things once more wore their 
wonted aspect. 

At Newport our wounded were carried on shore. 
Our former officers also left us here. When my 
master, Mr. Walker, took his leave of me, he ap- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 153 

peared deeply affected. Imprinting a kiss on my 
cheek, the tears started from his eyes, and he bade 
me adieu. I have not seen him since. 

While we lay here, a few days, several of our 
men contrived to run away. I should have done 
so too, but for the vigilance of the prize officers, 
who were ordered to keep us, that we might be 
exchanged for those Americans who had. fallen 
into British hands. 

After staying a short time in this port, we got 
under weigh and ran into New London. Here we 
iked a gun as a signal ; it was answered by the 
United States, and both ships were presently 
sailing in company to New York. We found the 
sound plentifully dotted with sloops, carrying pas- 
sengers, for this was before the days of modern 
steamboating. After we reached Hurl-gate, ves- 
sels here gave us plenty of employment. Most 
of them honored us with three cheers, as they 
passed. Of course, the prize crew could do no 
less than cheer again, so that we passed our time 
amidst continued cheering. While here, we were 
favored with abundant visitors, curious to see the 
captive frigate. Finding these visitors extremely 
inquisitive, and being tolerably good-natured my- 
self, I found a profitable business in conducting 
them about the ship, describing the action, and 
pointing out the places where particular individu- 
als fell. For these services, I gained some money 
and more good will. The people who had been 
to see us, used to tell on shore how they had been 



154 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

on board of us, and how the English boy had 
conducted them over the ship, and told them the 
particulars of the fight. It soon became quite 
common for those who came to inquire " if I was 
the English boy that was taken in her." This 
civility on my part was not without a motive ; it 
was productive of profit, and I wanted money to 
aid me whenever I got clear, which I was fully 
determined to do, the first opportunity. 

To this step I was encouraged by our pilot, who 
brought us from New London, Mr. Tinker. He 
promised to take me as his apprentice, if I ran 
away. Also a gentleman who visited us told me 
to call at his house in Pearl street, and he would 
give me a dinner. Many others advised me to 
get away if possible. But I was so closely watched 
that my mind was haunted with fear, lest, after all, 
I should be sent back to England in the Cartel, 
which was expected every day for the release of 
the prisoners. To fail in the attempt, exposed me 
to the danger of being reported to the officer who 
might come for us, and thus I was liable to be 
flogged whenever I arrived in a British port. 
Great caution was therefore necessary in making 
the effort; since it was better not to try at all, 
than to fail of success. 

Christmas was now drawing near. The day 
before Christmas day, the Americans contrived to 
get well supplied with wine from a barrel they 
found below. As they had no funds, I bought my 
messmates some apples and a turkey, so that on 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 155 

the morrow they were quite taken up with feast- 
ing. We also had a great many visitors that day ; 
many of them were ladies, and the officers got a 
chair out, which Captain Carden had rigged up, 
to lift ladies on board. It was made from an old 
hogshead, in the following manner. One head 
was knocked out and the barrel scooped out in 
front ; a seat was then inserted, with a flag thrown 
over the whole ; so that when it was lowered into 
a boat alongside, the lady had but to step in and 
throw the flag round her feet ; in a trice, the chair 
was whipt upon deck by the halyards, when the 
lady could step out with perfect ease. This con- 
trivance afforded a great deal of amusement, and 
kept the officers busily occupied in waiting upon 
their lady visitors. Now then, thought I, is my 
time for escape, or not at all. I had already made 
a friend of the American boatswain, Mr. Dawson, 
who promised to carry my clothes to New York, 
if I got clear. So, looking over the ship's side, I 
saw a small colored boy in a boat. " Can you tell 
me," said I, hailing him, " where I can get some 
geese and turkeys on shore for our officers ? " 

" I guess you can at some of the houses," res- 
ponded the lad. 

" Well, then," I continued, " will you set me 
ashore ? I want to get some for our officers." 

To this he replied, " Yes, if you will go and ask 
my master, who is on board your ship." 

This was a damper on my young hopes, since 
it was not likely that his master would give per- 



156 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

mission. I went below, somewhat disconcerted. 
There I met a boy named James Day, two years 
younger than myself. I told him I was going to 
run away, and urged him to go with me. He 
declined at first, saying, " I have no money to pay 
my expenses." 

" But I have money," returned I, " and as long 
as I have a shilling, you shall have half of it." 

" Besides," continued he, " I am afraid we can- 
not get away without being caught, and so get a 
thorough flogging." 

" Never mind that," said I; " I have contrived 
that business. The boat 's waiting to set us ashore. 
Come along, Jim ; do n't be frightened ; ' Nothing 
venture, nothing have,' you know. Come, come, 
here 's the boat alongside." At length he con- 
sented ; we returned to the ship's side, and told 
the boy his master was willing, provided he would 
make haste. We jumped into the boat, and were 
soon hurrying towards the shore, full of the hope 
of freedom. 

Never did my heart misgive me as it did when 
we were on our way to the shore ; the voice of 
the boy's master came echoing along the waves. 
" Where are you going with that boat ? " he 
shouted. Recovering myself, I persuaded the boy 
he was only bidding him to make haste. So the 
lad replied, " I am going to get some geese, sir ! " 
and pulled on. A few minutes more, and, to my 
unspeakable delight, I stood on American soil. 
Giving the boy a half dollar, we pushed on for 
New York, some ten miles distant. 



158 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

For this act of running away, I have never 
blamed myself; for the means by which it was 
effected, I have frequently done so. As the reader 
has seen, it was done at the expense of truth. 
I told several deliberate lies to the deceived boy 
in the boat. This is inexcusable, and the only 
palliation that can be offered is, my want of reli- 
gious instruction. I was not then a Christian. 
Still, the act of lying was an offence before God, 
and no man should purchase his liberty at the 
price of a lie. He who saves his life at the cost of 
offending God, pays dearly for the purchase. I 
am thankful I have since learned this lesson, at 
the foot of the cross of Jesus Christ. 

Not having our land legs on, we soon became 
excessively fatigued. When within two or three 
miles of the city, we concluded to stop all night 
at a tavern on the road. 

The inmates looked somewhat surprised to see 
two sailor lads inquiring for lodgings ; so I at once 
told them we were runaways from the captured 
frigate. This made them our friends ; the even- 
ing passed quite pleasantly ; we relating the par- 
ticulars of the battle, and singing sea songs, and 
they listening with the utmost good humor. 

It seemed strange to us to find ourselves in a 
bed, after sleeping two years and a half in a ham- 
mock ; nevertheless, we slept soundly, and to our 
inexpressible pleasure arose in the morning at our 
leisure, without being driven by the swearing 
boatswain at our heels. After breakfast, our gen- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAK, 159' 

erous host having refused to receive any payment 
for his hospitality, we set out for the city of New 
York. 

Here I very fortunately alighted on one of the 
crew of the Macedonian, named Fitzgibbons, who 
informed me that most of our men had been 
landed at New London, and confined as prison- 
ers in an old barn ; but that, not being over closely 
guarded, most of them had run away. He also- 
introduced me to a sailors' boarding-house, kept 
by a widow named Elms, near the old Fly Mar- 
ket in Front street. 

After spending a week in roving about the city,. 
I heard a tremendous roaring of cannon in the 
harbor ; it proceeded from the two frigates — which 
had dropped down from Hurl-gate and hauled up 
off the navy yard. What was more to my satis- 
faction, however, was the news that the cartel had 
arrived and carried off the British crew, or, rather. 
the fragment that remained of them. Had I 
delayed my escape three days longer, instead of 
spending the rest of my days in America and in 
the American service, I should have been ehained 
to the obnoxious discipline of the British navy. 
The reader may be assured that the narrowness 
of my escape very greatly enhanced the value I 
set upon my freedom. 

I now ventured on board the Macedonian again 
to obtain my clothes. As I stepped on board, my 
mind misgave me, as Lieutenant Nicholson eyed 
me somewhat sternly ; but I was reassured, whertj, 



160 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

kindly speaking, he informed me that the cartel 
was gone, and I was safe. The sailors, also, con- 
gratulated me on my success in getting clear. 

The officers and crew were about to have a 
public dinner, and to visit the theatre in commem- 
oration of their achievement. The sailors invited 
me to join them. To this I agreed. But over- 
hauling my clothes, and contriving how I should 
appear as well as my shipmates, who were all 
going to have new suits for the occasion, the 
bright anchor buttons, which shone on my best 
suit, presented an insuperable objection. For 
how could I appear among them with the badge 
of the British service on my coat ? This dilemma 
was removed, however, by the skill of my land- 
lady, the widow, who very carefully covered the 
huttons with blue cloth. 

There was great excitement in New York, 
when the brave tars of the victorious United 
States, walked in triumphant procession through 
the streets, in the presence of countless citizens. 
First, came Captain Carden's band, which had 
now shipped with Decatur; they were followed 
by the commodore and his officers, and these by 
the crew. At the City Hotel, all hands partook 
of a sumptuous dinner. This was followed by 
rather more than a usual amount of drinking, 
laughing, and talking; for as liquor was fur- 
nished in great abundance, the men could not 
resist the temptation to get drunk. As they left 
the room to go to the theatre, the poor plates on 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR, 162 

the sideboard proclaimed that " Jack was fall 
three sheets in the wind." Almost every one* 
as he passed, gave them a crack, crying out as 
they fell, " Save the pieces;," thus illustrating the 
old proverb, " When rum is in y wit is out." 

The visit to the theatre passed off very much 
like the dinner, to wit, there was an abundance 
of shouting and cheering all the evening. After 
the close of the play, all hands scattered to see 
their friends, with orders to be on board next day. 
It was a week before they all returned. 

I was much struck with the appearance of 
Decatur that evening, as he sat in full uniform , 
his pleasant face flushed with the excitement of 
the occasion. He formed a striking contrast to 
the appearance he made when he visited our ship 
on the passage to New York. Then, he wore an 
old straw hat and a plain suit of clothes, which 
made him look more like a farmer than a naval 
commander. 

Never had men more friends than the crew of 
the United States at this period. Every board- 
ing-house was open to them ; every merchant 
would trust them ; every one was willing to lend 
them money. What was it that gained them 
such public favor ? " 0, their victory, of course," 
replies the reader. Stop ; I will reveal the secret. 
They had some prize money coming to them in a 
few weeks ! That was the key that unlocked cof- 
fers ; the warmth that melted the heart ; the spirit 
that clothed the face with smiles. But for that — 
14* 



162 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

the prize money — poor Jack's credit and favor 
would, as usual, have been below par. 

Of course, this profusion, this universal popu- 
larity, almost turned the brains of some of those 
old tars; and at every opportunity they would 
steal ashore for a spree. This brought them into 
trouble ; it brought some of them to the gangway 
to be flogged. These floggings, however, were 
not very severe; they were rather a species of 
farce, enacted to preserve alive the forms of disci- 
pline. To avoid even these forms, the men were 
accustomed, after staying on a spree for several 
days, to visit the commodore's lady, with some 
piteous tale, begging her to intercede for them 
with their captain, This she did with almost 
constant success. The lucky tar would then go 
on board, telling his messmates that she was the 
sailor's friend, and using the usual saying in such 
€ases, "Good luck to her — she has a soul to be 
saved." 

By this time, the late crew of the Macedonian, 
or those of them who had not gone home with the 
cartel, were pretty well scattered over the coun- 
try. One of the marines, named Luke Oil, went 
to Springfield, Mass., where he was employed as 
a file-cutter by Colonel Lee, of the U. S. armory, 
at the rate of $75 per month. This prosperity, 
and an unfortunate marriage, led him into un- 
steady habits. He enlisted into the U. S. army ; 
but growing sick of that, Colonel Lee procured 
his discharge. He afterwards enlisted again, 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 163 

which is the last I ever heard of Luke Oil. Two 
more of our marines, named Shipley and Taylor^ 
also went to Springfield, and were employed by a 
Mr. Ames. 

Several of the others enlisted to serve in the 
fort at New London. One of these, whose name 
was Hawkins, was very highly esteemed for his 
excellences as a soldier, and was soon made ser- 
geant. But being an inveterate drunkard, he lost 
his office, and was degraded to the ranks. 

I have a characteristic anecdote to record of 
Sadler, the messmate of Bob Hammond. He en- 
listed in the American army, and was quartered at 
Hartford. He was so delighted with everything 
American, that he had grown to be an enthusiast 
in his encomiums on the government, as was ex- 
hibited one day in a somewhat peculiar way. 
The company to which he belonged was marched 
to church, one Sabbath, to hear (I think it was) 
priest Strong. The text was, " Fear God and 
honor the king." This was too much for the 
newly-made American; and he put the congre- 
gation into a broad grin, by exclaiming aloud, 
" Do n't let us hear about the king, but about 
congress." The good people of Hartford would 
have pardoned this violation of Puritan propriety, 
if they had seen that brave fellow flogged, as I 
had, in the king's service. 

Our lifer, Charles Robinson, also enlisted in the 
same regiment. Perhaps some of the inhabitants 
of Hartford still remember the soldier who amused 



164 a Voice from the main deck, 

them, during his stay, by playing on the bugle in 
the morning, from the top of the court-house. 
Robinson was perfect master of several instru- 
ments, especially the fife and the bugle. 

One of our boys, named William Madden, but 
better known by the Macedonians by the nick- 
name of " Billy O'Rook," from his practice of 
singing a song about that hero, enlisted in the 
army, and afterwards performed a signal service 
for his adopted country, at Sacket's Harbor. The 
Americans were in full retreat before the British 
troops, whose general, mounted on a superb charger, 
was at their head, shouting, " Huzza, my boys, the 
day is ours ! " when young Madden, rendered des- 
perate by the certainty of being shot, if taken by 
his countrymen, deliberately aimed his rifle at the 
general. The shot struck him, he fell, and the 
British retreated. This brave lad lost his life in 
a subsequent action. I make this statement on 
the authority of Captain Badger, of Williamstown, 
Mass., confirmed by the testimony of several other 
persons, 

The reader has probably not forgotten the name 
of Bloody Dick. He shipped on board the Hor- 
net, sloop of war, and with that vessel very 
narrowly escaped falling into the hands of the 
English. I met him afterwards in New York. 
He told me how he trembled during the chase, 
knowing that if captured he should be hung for 
entering the American service; the British hav- 
ing given express orders for a strict look-out after 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 165 

our crew, that they might make examples of 
them. 

Besides the men just mentioned, others of our 
crew shipped and wandered in every direction; 
some in men of war, some in merchant vessels ; 
some, fearful of the risk of being retaken, settled 
ashore. In short, it is impossible to trace them, so 
variously did they diverge from each other. I 
have been particular in mentioning the history of 
a few, to gratify the parties, should they be living, 
and ever see my book ; to confirm the reader in the 
truthfulness of my account, and to show some of 
the changes that followed in consequence of the 
victory of the United States over the Macedonian. 
It would be an interesting task, were it possible, 
to trace out all the results of that victory. Hav- 
ing detained the reader thus long in following the 
fate of my shipmates, I will resume the record of 
my own in the following chapter. 



CHAPTER VIIL 

The author meets with his old shipmates — A proposition — 
An awkward dilemma — Refusal to ship — Low state of 
his funds — A generous offer — The author becomes a 
boot-maker's apprentice — A pleasant report — A visit 
to the United States frigate — A pleasant discovery — 
Change of purpose — Quits the shoemaker — Is robbed 
by a negro — Goes to Salem — Dreams — Serious emotions 
— Revival among the Baptists — A 'iishing excursion — ■ 
Dangerous proximity to a British brig — The Chesa- 
peake and Shannon — The author ships in the gun brig 
Syren — Her armament, &c described. 

Nearly two weeks had passed since I left the 
Macedonian. I and my companion were living 
upon the sums I had saved from the presents I 
received for my civilities to her numerous visitors. 
One day, as I was sauntering round the wharves, 
with my protege, I met a number of men-of- 
war's-men. Stepping up to them, I perceived 
some of the old Macedonians. Of course, I hailed 
them. They were glad to see me. They had 
shipped on board the John Adams, guard ship, to 
which they were returning, having been enjoying 
a few days' liberty. Nothing would satisfy them, 
but for us to accompany them, and ship too. The 
midshipman who was with them, joined his en- 
treaties to theirs, and we at last consented. 



SIX YEARS m A MAN OF WAR. 167 

To avoid being detected by the British, it was 
usual for our men to assume new names, and to 
hail from some American port, on shipping in an 
American vessel. My shipmates advised me to 
do the same. To this I had some objections 1 , 
because I knew that changing my name would 
not make me a Yankee, while it might bring me 
into as awkward a position as it did an Irishman, 
who was found by an English cruiser on board an 
American vessel. After he had declared himself 
an American, the officer asked him, " What part 
of America did you come from ? " 

" I used to belong to Philamadelph, but now I 
belong to Philama York," replied paddy, conceal- 
ing his brogue as much as possible. " Well," 
continued the officer, " can you say pease ? " 

" Pase, sir," said Pat in true Irish style. The 
officer laughed and replied, " Mr. Pase, you will 
please to get into the boat." The poor Irishman 
was unsuccessful in playing the Yankee. 

Mentioning these fears, the midshipman said, 
" Call yourself William Harper, and hail from 
Philadelphia ;" then turning to my companion, he 
added, " and call yourself James Wilson." 

" But," said I, " suppose the officer should ask 
any questions about Philadelphia, what should I 
do?" 

" 0, say you belong to Pine street." 

" But what if he asks me in what part of the 
city Pine street is situated, and what streets join 
it ? " I answered, determined not to take a step in 
the dark if I could avoid it. 



168 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

The midshipman assured me that no such 
questions would be put ; and, partly confiding and 
partly doubting, I resolved to make the experi- 
ment. Going on board, we were paraded before 
■the officers. Addressing me, one of them said, 
*' Well, my boy, what is your name ? " 

Mustering all the confidence I could command, 
I boldly answered, " William Harper, sir." 

" What part of America do you belong to, my 
boy?" 

" Philadelphia, sir." 

Here one of the officers smiled and remarked, 
" Ah, a townsman." I trembled at hearing this, 
inwardly hoping that they would ask me no more 
questions. To my increased alarm, however, he 
continued by asking, " What street in Philadel- 
phia?" 

" Pine street, sir," said I, with the air of a man 
who feels himself drawn toward a crisis he can- 
not escape. 

" What street joins Pine street, my lad ? " asked 
my tormentor, with a knowing laugh. 

This was a poser; for further than this my 
instructions had not proceeded. However, I ral- 
lied the little confidence which remained, and 
said, " I don't remember, sir." 

The officer who had claimed me as a towns- 
man, mentioned the next street, and my examiner 
went on by asking me what street joined the one 
mentioned by the officer. 

My colors, which had fallen to half-mast before, 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 169 

were now fairly struck. I had to surrender at 
discretion ; but thinking to get off with the hon- 
ors of war, I answered, " Gentlemen, it is so long 
since I was in Philadelphia, I have forgotten all 
about it." 

This point blank shot might have saved me, 
when, as if Providence had determined to make 
my attempt at lying a total failure, one of them 
detected a glittering anchor button, which had 
contrived to get rid of the covering placed over it 
by the fingers of the widow. Pointing it out to 
the others, he said, " Where did you get that 
English button ? Did you pick it up in Phila- 
delphia?" 

This was a shot which raked me fore and aft. 
I hauled down my colors and stood silent. The 
officers laughed heartily as one of them said, 
" Go below, my lad ; you will make a pretty good 
Yankee." 

Through all this procedure the reader will per- 
ceive how perfect was the disregard of truth 
among all parties, from my humble self to the 
officers, who were evidently rather pleased than 
otherwise at my attempt to pass for an American. 
Such an absence of moral rectitude is deplorable ; 
it exhibits the unfitness of the parties for a man- 
sion in His kingdom who is a God of truth : it 
lays the foundation for a mutual distrust and sus- 
picion among men, and it leaves the offender to 
meet a fearful weight of responsibility in the day 
that shall try every man's work. I am thankful 
15 



170 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

that the influences of Christianity have fallen 
upon me since that time, in such abundance as to 
renew the spirit of my mind, and to fill me with 
abhorrence towards a violation of truth. 

The next morning I and my companion, who 
had escaped the ordeal that had proved too much 
for me, were summoned to go ashore to the ren- 
dezvous, that we might sign the ship's articles ; 
or, in sailor phrase, get shipped. The officer of 
the watch shouted, " Boatswain's mate ! " 

" Sir," answered a deep, gruff voice. 

" Pipe away the cutter," said the officer. 

" Aye, aye, sir." 

" Pass the word for James Wilson and William 
Harper." 

" Aye, aye, sir." 

Then followed a loud, shrill whistle, accom- 
panied with the cry of, " Away, there, cutters, 
away ! " We were also summoned to appear, 
and told to take our seats in |he cutter, which by 
this time lay alongside, manned by her crew of 
six men, who sat each with his oar elevated in 
the air, waiting the word of command. We were 
soon seated, the lieutenant passed the words, " Let 
fall, and give way;" the oars fell into the water 
with admirable precision, and away we flew to- 
wards the shore. 

On our way to the rendezvous, I told my com- 
panion I should not ship in the John Adams, 
because so many of the Macedonians were already 
there, and it was impossible for us to pass for 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 171 

Americans. After some debate, we agreed to- 
gether not to sign the articles. On entering the 
house where the stars and stripes were flying 
over the door, in token of its being the naval ren- 
dezvous, being anxious to have my friend Wilson 
pass the ordeal first, I affected to stumble, and 
then continued apparently engaged in fixing my 
shoe-string. " Well, my boy, what is your name ? 
Just sign it here, will you ?" said the officer. 

I took no notice, but remained very busy with 
my shoes. My shipmate replied in a low, bashful 
voice, "I don't like to ship, sir." 

" Very well, then go below," said the officer. 
At this juncture, feeling encouraged by his re- 
mark, I looked up ; when, to my discomfiture, 
the officer, fixing his eyes on my retreating com- 
panion, observed, " That fellow will certainly be 
hung;" meaning that he would get caught by 
the English. Then, addressing me, he said, 
" Now, my lad, just sign your name." 

" Sir," said I, " I had better not ship alone. The 
other boy is only frightened ; let me talk to him 
a little, and I can persuade him to ship with me.'' 

The shipping officer was too old a bird to be 
snared with such chaff as this. So, speaking 
rather sharply, he said, " Let him go, sir, and 
ship yourself; then he'll come back and join 
you ; and" — he smiled as he spoke — " I will let 
you come ashore to persuade him, in a day or 
two." 

Still I pretended not to be convinced, and, after 



172 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

considerable debate, he let me off. Once more 
clear, I joined my young shipmate, and we pro- 
ceeded together to our boarding-house, congratu- 
lating ourselves on our fortunate escape, as it 
appeared to us. 

Two weeks of idleness had nearly exhausted 
the little stock of funds I had picked up on board 
my old ship, and it was becoming necessary for 
me to find some means or other of supporting my- 
self; for although the prim widow, with whom I 
boarded, was quite obliging while her bills were 
paid, it was altogether probable that she would 
become a little crusty if they should be neglected. 
At this crisis I fortunately met with an English- 
man, who had visited our frigate at Hurl-gate. 
His name was Smith ; he was a deserter from the 
British army ; but was now settled in New York, 
as a boot-maker, in the employment of the firm 
of Benton & Co., Broadway. He offered to take 
me and initiate me into the art, science and secrets 
of boot-making. Seeing no better opportunity 
before me, I accepted his kind offer, and at once 
entered on my novitiate. 

Behold me then, kind reader, transformed from 
the character of a runaway British sailor, into 
that of a quiet scholar, at the feet of St. Crispin, 
where in the matter of awls, wax-ends, lapstones 
and pegs, I soon became quite proficient. 

It is altogether probable that the rest of my life 
would have glided away in this still and quiet 
manner, but for a report that reached me, one 
Sabbath, as I was wasting its precious hours in 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR, 173 

wandering about among the shipping. This was, 
that there was a tall, stout seaman on board the 
United States, named George Turner. From the 
name and description, I had no doubt that this was 
my cousin, who (the reader has not forgotten I 
presume) presented himself so unceremoniously 
to my aunt at Wanstead. 

This intelligence determined me to pay that 
frigate a visit. Going on board, I found her crew 
living in a complete Elysium of sensual enjoy- 
ment. They had recently received their prize 
money. Salt beef and pork were now rejected 
with disdain : Jack's messkids smoked with more 
savory viands, such as soft tack (bread) and butter, 
fried eggs, sausages, &c. ; the whole well soaked 
with copious streams of rum and brandy. 

Those of the crew who had been in the Mace- 
donian, hailed me with a hearty welcome ; those 
for whom I had bought the turkey and apples at 
Christmas repaid me fourfold, so that when I went 
ashore that night my purse was as heavy as on 
the afternoon when I quitted my ship. My cous- 
in did not recognise me at first ; but by referring 
him to his visit to my old abode, he at last felt 
satisfied that I was his cousin. He then charged 
me not to mention our relationship, because he 
wished' to pass for an American. Having given 
me this charge, he surveyed me from head to 
foot, and then said, " What are you doing in 
New York?" 

" I am learning to make boots and shoes." 
15* 



174 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

" I am sorry you are bound to a shoemaker," 
said he ; " I don't like that business." 

"I am not bound to Mr. Smith, but can leave 
him when I please." 

" Well, then," he remarked thoughtfully, " I don't 
want you to go to sea again. Go to Salem, in the 
state of Massachusetts. I have a wife and chil- 
dren there, and shall be at home in a few weeks." 

This was a kind offer, and I at once agreed to 
take his advice. I had already grown somewhat 
weary with the confinement of my new mode of 
life, though, on the whole, considering my educa- 
tion, and the character of the influence exerted 
upon me in the Macedonian, I was a steady lad. 
Mr. Smith had left me pretty much to my own 
inclinations during the two months of my resi- 
dence with him ; yet my utmost misconduct had 
been the drinking of a little spirit, and the viola- 
tion of the Sabbath by roaming about the docks 
and wharves. My Sabbath evenings I had usu- 
ally spent in a more profitable manner, it being 
my habit to spend them at the Methodist chapel 
in Duane street. 

On returning to the house of my kind employer, 
I lost no time in communicating to him my change 
of purpose. He objected, and justly too, to be 
left just as the pains he had taken to instruct me 
were about to be requited by my usefulness. 
However, as I offered him five dollars, he con- 
sented to my departure. 

At that time there were no steamboats plough- 



SIX #EARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 175 

ing the waters of the sound, so I engaged a steer- 
age passage to Providence, for five dollars, on board 
a, packet sloop, and, with a light heart and elas- 
tic step, carried my clothes-bag on board. Here, 
however, I met with a trifling loss. While ashore 
waiting for a fair wind, a negro, who had engaged 
a passage in the sloop, robbed my bag of several 
articles of wearing apparel, and took French 
leave. In consideration of this mishap, the cap- 
tain exacted only three dollars passage-money. 
From Providence a stage, chartered exclusively 
by a party of sailors, conveyed me to Boston; 
from whence I soon reached the house of my 
cousin in Salem. 

Mrs. Turner received me with great kindness ; 
indeed, she pretended not to be surprised at my 
visit, assigning as a reason the very satisfactory 
fact that she had seen me with my bag on my 
shoulder in the grounds of a teacup I She was 
a believer in fortune-telling and dreams, having, 
for aught I know, received her convictions as an 
heirloom from her witch-burning ancestors. At 
any rate, she was strongly confirmed in her favor- 
ite theory by my timely arrival ; verifying, as it 
did, to the very particular of the bag on the shoul- 
der, the truth-telling tea-grounds. 

She gave me another proof, after I had been 
there a few weeks, of the truthfulness and verity 
of dreams, by calling me up one morning, with 
an injunction to make haste to the post-office, for 
she had dreamed of catching Jisk. Sure enough, 



176 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

if she caught no fish in her dreams, she caught a 
very fine one in the letter I "brought to her, for it 
contained a one hundred dollar bill from her hus- 
band, with information that his ship was blockaded 
in the port of New London by Commodore Hardy. 
Accident or curiosity, I forget which, led me to 
attend the religious services of the Baptists in 
Salem. They were enjoying a season of religious 
refreshing : several were baptized. The hymn 
beginning with the line — 

" Oh how happy are they who their Saviour obey," 

was sung as the converts came out of the water, 
and made a strong impression on my mind. Had 
some devoted Christian made himself acquainted 
with my feelings, and given me suitable advice, 
there is no doubt but that I should have been led 
to embrace the Lord Jesus Christ. How many 
divine impressions are destroyed, through lack of 
faithfulness in Christians ! 

Perhaps the great reason why these serious' 
impressions were so transient, was because the 
company I kept was so unfavorable to their growth. 
Most of my time was spent about the shipping : 
among these were many privateers, the profanity 
of whose crews was such that it had passed into 
a proverb. It was usual to say to a gross swearer, 
" You swear like a privateer's-man." Eeligion 
could not flourish in an atmosphere tainted by 
their vices. 

Among my favorite pursuits was that of fishing 
Sometimes I went with mixed parties of males 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 177 

and females ; at others, with a few sailor com- 
panions. One of these excursions came very 
near costing rather more than it was worth. We 
had been out all night; towards morning we 
thought we would get a little sleep, and for this 
purpose laid ourselves down under the top-gallant 
forecastle. Luckily for us, we had an old sailor, 
named Lewis Deal, on board. He had been 
quartermaster on board the United States. Know- 
ing that the coast was strictly guarded by British 
cruisers, he kept awake. Just at dawn the bang 
of a single gun led him to call us, saying, " There, 
I told you to look out for Johnny Bull." 

Looking about us, we saw an English gun brig 
in chase after a Boston sloop. This was a sight 
that inspired us with a very sudden and wonder- 
ful agility, since we had a decided repugnance to 
a free passage in the aforesaid brig to Halifax ; 
especially as in my case it might have the rather 
unpleasant termination of an airing at the yard- 
arm ; which, for very strong reasons I chose to 
avoid if possible. 

By dint of strong arms and quick movements, 
we succeeded in hauling in our anchor and getting 
under weigh, without attracting the Englishman's 
attention. Expecting a shot at our heels every 
moment, we . sat breathlessly measuring our dis- 
tance from the brig. Fortunately, we escaped 
notice, and reached Salem in safety. 

Shortly after this adventure, the good citizens 
of Salem were thrown into a hi^h state of excite- 



178 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

merit by the noise of a heavy cannonading. A 
general rush took place from all quarters towards 
the Neck. I followed with the rest. We found it 
to be occasioned by the engagement between the 
Chesapeake and Shannon, in compliance with a 
challenge, sent by the latter, which was accepted 
by Captain Lawrence, of the former. The result 
is well known. After a short action, the Chesa- 
peake struck to the Shannon, and was carried 
away by the victors, in triumph, to Halifax. One 
reason for the defeat of the American frigate, may 
perhaps be found in the fact that her crew were 
newly shipped ; some of them were volunteer 
landsmen, while none of them had what sailors 
call their sea-legs on. No ship is fit for action 
until she has been at sea at least a month. In 
this action the captain, first lieutenant, and sev- 
eral men, were killed. Mr. George Crowninshield 
sent a vessel to Halifax for the bodies of those 
gallant officers ; they were interred in Salem with 
naval honors. 

My cousin, having now reached home, was 
desirous to have me devote myself to some busi- 
ness. He proposed that of a sailmaker; but 
by this time I had quite a desire to go to sea 
again. 

The Constitution, the Frolic sloop of war, and 
the gun brig Syren, were all shipping hands in 
Boston. My feelings inclined me towards old 
Ironsides ; but my cousin, having sailed with 
Captain Parker 5 of the Syren, recommended that 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 179 

officer so strongly, that I was induced to join his 
ship, in company with the quartermaster and sev- 
eral of the former hands of the United States. 
My cousin also overruled my design of shipping 
in a false name ; so that, in defiance of my fears, I 
suffered myself to be entered as Samuel Leech, on 
the books of the U. S. brig Syren, of sixteen guns. 
I The payment of three months' advance, with the 
j sum I brought with me from New York, enabled 
me honorably to discharge my board bills at my 
cousin's, and to purchase the little clothing neces- 
sary to fit me for sea. I was then in the seven- 
teenth year of my life. 

Once more in a man of war, my seriousness all 
vanished like mist before the sun. Alas, it was 
poor soil to nourish the seed of life ! barren of 
everything that related to purity, religion, and 
immortality. 

My first impressions of the American service 
were very favorable. The treatment in the Syren 
was more lenient and favorable than in the Mace- 
donian. The captain and officers were kind, 
while there was a total exemption from that petty 
tyranny exercised by the upstart midshipmen in 
the British service. As a necessary effect, our 
crew were as comfortable and as happy as men 
ever are in a man of war. 

While we lay in Boston harbor, thanksgiving- 
day arrived. Some of our Salem men inquired 
if 1 was not going home to keep thanksgiving, for 
they all supposed I belonged to Salem. What 



180 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

they meant by " thanksgiving," was a mystery to 
me, but, dissembling my ignorance, I obtained 
leave, determined to learn what it meant. The 
result of my visit was the idea that thanksgiving- 
day, was one in which the people crammed them~ 
selves with turkeys, geese, pumpkin-pies, &c. : 
for, certainly, that was the chief business of the 
day, so far as I could perceive. With too many 
people, I believe that this is the leading idea 
associated with the day even now. 

Our brig had before this taken in her guns, 
consisting of two long nine-pounders, twelve 
twenty-four pound carronades, and two forty- 
two pounders. Our crew was composed of some 
one hundred and twenty-five smart, active men. 
We were all supplied with stout leather caps, 
something like those used by firemen. These 
were crossed by two strips of iron, covered 
with bearskin, and were designed to defend the 
head, in boarding an enemy's ship, from the stroke 
of the cutlass. Strips of bearskin were likewise 
used to fasten them on, serving the purpose of 
false whiskers, and causing us to look as fierce as 
hungry wolves. We were also frequently exer- 
cised in the various evolutions of a sea-fight ; first 
using our cannon, then seizing our cutlasses and 
boarding-pikes, and cutting to the right and left, 
as if in the act of boarding an enemy's ship. Thus 
we spent our time from early in the fall until 
after Christmas, when we received orders to hold 
ourselves in readiness for sea. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Plan to capture the Nimrod defeated by the wind — Orders 
to sail for Africa — Leave Boston — Voyage to the Afri- 
can coast — Death of the captain — An unpleasant catas- 
trophe — Mr. Nicholson assumes the command — The 
Grand Turk frightened — Trade with the natives — Short 
allowance of water — An enemy — Battle of Senegal — 
A Yankee trick — The Syren reaches St. Thomas — A 
prize — Another capture— Petty tyranny resisted — The 
gunner's water keg robbed — The Syren refitted at 
Angola — She starts for America — Passes the island 
of Ascension — A sail — Anecdote — Chase — The Syren 
captured by the Medway seventy-four — Short allow- 
ance — Landed at Sunmond's Town — A painful journey 
— Arrival at the prison in Cape Town. 

As we lay waiting for our final orders, a report 
reached us that a large English brig of war, called 
the Nimrod, lay in a cove somewhere near Boston 
bay. Upon this information, our officers planned 
a night expedition for the purpose of effecting her 
capture. Our intended mode of attack was to run 
close alongside, pour a broadside upon her, and 
then, without further ceremony, board her, cutlass 
in hand. So we took in our powder, ground up 
our cutlasses, and towards night got under weigh. 
A change in the wind, however, defeated our 
designs, and we put into Salem harbor, with no 
16 



182 A VOICE FROM TEE MAIN DECK. 

other result than the freezing of a man's fingers, 
which happened while we were furling our sails. 
Thus ended our first warlike expedition in the 
Syren. 

Shortly after this affair, we received orders to 
start on a cruise to the coast of Africa, and, in 
company with the Grand Turk, a privateer, set 
sail from Salem. Passing the fort, we received 
the usual hail from the sentry, of " Brig ahoy ! 
where are you hound to ?" 

To this salutation the first lieutenant jocosely 
answered, " There, and back again, on a man of 
war's cruise." Such a reply would not have sat- 
isfied a British soldier ; hut we shot past the fort 
unmolested. After two days we parted company 
with the Grand Turk, and by the aid of a fair 
wind soon found ourselves in the Gulf Stream ; 
where, instead of fearing frozen fingers, we could 
go barefooted and feel quite comfortable. 

We now kept a sharp look-out at the mast- 
head, but met with nothing until we reached the 
Canary Islands, near which we saw a boat-load 
of Portuguese, who, coming alongside, talked in 
their native tongue with great noise and earnest- 
ness, but were no more intelligible to us than so 
many blackbirds. 

While off the African coast, our captain died. 
His wasted body was placed in a coffin, with shot 
to sink it. After the service had been read, the 
plank on which the coffin rested was elevated, 
and it slipped into the great deep. The yards 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 183 

were braced round, and we were under weigh 
again, when, to our surprise and grief, we saw the 
coffin floating on the waves. The reason was, 
the carpenter had bored holes in the top and bot- 
tom ; he should have made them only in the top. 

After the funeral, the crew were called aft, and 
the first lieutenant, Mr. Nicholson, told us that it 
should be left to our decision whether he should 
assume the command and continue the cruise, or 
return home. "We gave him three hearty cheers, 
in token of our wish to continue the cruise. He 
was a noble-minded man, very kind and civil to 
his crew ; and the opposite, in every respect, to the 
haughty, lordly captain with whom I first sailed 
in the Macedonian. Seeing me one day with 
rather a poor hat on, he called me aft and present- 
ed me with one of his own, but little worn. 
" Good luck to him," said I, in sailor phrase, as I 
returned to my messmates ; " he has a soul to be 
saved." "We also lost two of our crew, who fell 
victims to the heat of the climate. 

One morning the cry of " Sail ho ! " directed 
our attention to a strange sail, which had hove to, 
with her courses hauled up. At first, we took 
her for a British man-of-war brig. The hands 
were summoned to quarters, and the ship got ready 
for action. A nearer approach, however, con- 
vinced us that the supposed enemy, was no other 
than our old friend, the Grand Turk. She did 
not appear to know us ; for no sooner did she see 
that our craft was a brig of war, than, supposing 



184 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

us to belong to Johnny Bull, she crowded all her 
canvass, and made the best of her way off. Know- 
ing what she was, we permitted her to escape 
without further alarm. 

The first land we made was Cape Mount. The 
natives came off to a considerable distance in their 
canoes, clothed in nothing but a piece of cloth 
fastened round the waist, and extending downward 
to the feet. As we approached the shore, we saw 
several fires burning ; this, we were told, in the 
broken English spoken by our sable visitors, was 
the signal for trade. We bought a quantity of 
oranges, limes, cocoanuts, tamarinds, plantains, 
yams and bananas. We likewise took in a quan- 
tity of cassada, a species of ground root, of which 
we made tolerable pudding and bread ; also a few 
hogs and some water. 

We lay here several days, looking out for any 
English vessels that might come thither for pur- 
poses of trade. 

Meanwhile, we began to experience the incon- 
venience of a hot climate. Our men were all 
covered with blotches or boils, probably occasioned 
by so sudden a transition from extreme cold to 
extreme heat. What was worse than this, was 
the want of a plentiful supply of water. In the 
absence of this, we were placed on an allowance 
of two quarts per diem, to each man. This occa- 
sioned us much suffering ; for, after mixing our 
Indian for puddings, our cassada for bread, and our 
whisky for grog, we had but little left to assuage 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 185 

our burning thirst. Some, in their distress, drank 
large quantities of sea water, which only increased 
their thirst and made them sick; others sought 
relief in chewing lead, tea-leaves, or anything 
which would create moisture. Never did we feel 
more delighted than when our boat's crew an- 
nounced the discovery of a pool of fine clear water. 
We received it with greater satisfaction than ever 
prodigal did tidings of the death of some rich old 
relative, to whose well-laden purse he was undis- 
puted heir. We could, have joined in the most 
enthusiastic cold-water song ever sung by either 
hermit or Washingtonian. 

While cruising along the coast, we one night 
perceived a large ship lying at anchor near the 
shore. We could not decide whether she was a 
large merchantman or a man of war ; so we ap- 
proached her with the utmost caution. Our 
doubts were soon removed, for she suddenly loosed 
all her sails and made chase after us. By the 
help of their glasses, our officers ascertained her 
to be an English frigate. Of course, it was folly 
to engage her ; so we made all the sail we could 
carry, beat to quarters, lighted our matches, and 
lay down at our guns, expecting to be prisoners of 
war before morning. During the night we hung 
out false lights, and altered our course ; this baffled 
our pursuer ; in the morning she was no more to 
be seen. 

The next sail we made was not so formidable. 
She was an English vessel at anchor in the Sen- 
16* 



186 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

egal river. We approached her and hailed. Her 
officer returned an insolent reply, which so exas- 
perated our captain that he passed the word to fire 
into her, but recalled it almost immediately. The 
countermand was too late ; for in a moment, every- 
thing being ready for action, we poured a whole 
broadside into our unfortunate foe. The current 
carried us away from the stranger. We attempted 
to beat up again, but our guns had roused the 
garrison in a fort which commanded the river; 
they began to blaze away at us in so expressive a 
manner, that we found it prudent to get a little 
beyond the reach of their shot, and patiently wait 
for daylight. 

The next morning we saw our enemy hauled 
close in shore, under the protection of the fort, and 
rilled with soldiers. At first, it was resolved to 
man the boats and cut her out; but this, after 
weighing the subject maturely, was pronounced to 
be too hazardous an experiment, and, notwithstand- 
ing our men begged to make the attempt, it was 
wisely abandoned. How many were killed by 
our hasty broadside, we never learned, but doubt- 
less several poor fellows were hurried to a watery 
and unexpected grave, affording another illustra- 
tion of the beauty of war. This affair our men 
humorously styled " the battle of Senegal." 

After visiting Cape Three Points, we shaped our 
course for St. Thomas. On our way, we lost a 
prize through a display of Yankee cunning in her 
commander. We had hoisted English colors; 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 187 

the officer in command of the stranger was pretty 
well versed in the secrets of false colors, and in 
return he ran up the American flag. The bait 
took : supposing her to be American, we showed 
the stars and stripes. This was all the merchant- 
man desired. It told him what we were, and he 
made all possible sail for St. Thomas. We fol- 
lowed, crowding every stitch of canvass our brig 
could carry; we also got out our sweeps and 
swept her along, but in vain. The merchantman 
was the better sailer, and succeeded in reaching 
St. Thomas, which, being a neutral port, secured 
her safety. Her name was the Jane, of Liverpool. 
The next morning, another Liverpool merchant- 
man got into the harbor, unseen by our look-out 
until she was under the protection of the laws of 
neutrality. 

Our next business was to watch the mouth of 
the harbor, in the hope of catching them as they 
left port. But they were too cautious to run into 
danger, especially as they were expecting a con- 
voy for their protection, which might make us 
glad to trust more to our canvass than to our can- 
non. 

Shortly after this occurrence, we made another 
sail standing in towards St. Thomas. Hoisting 
English colors, our officers also donning the Brit- 
ish uniform, we soon came near enough to hail 
her ; for, not doubting that we were a British brig, 
the merchantman made no effort to escape us. 
Our captain hailed her, " Ship ahoy ! " 



188 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

"Halloa!" 

" What ship is that ? " 

" The ship Barton." 

" Where do you belong ? " 

" To Liverpool." 

" What is your cargo ? " 

" Red-wood, palm oil and ivory." 

" Where are you bound to ? " 

" To St. Thomas." 

Just at that moment our English flag was 
hauled down, and, to the inexpressible annoyance 
of the officers of the Barton, the stars and stripes 
supplied its place. 

" Haul down your colors ! " continued Captain 
Nicholson. 

The old captain, who, up to this moment, had 
been enjoying a comfortable nap in his very com- 
fortable cabin, now came upon deck in his shirt 
sleeves, rubbing his eyes, and looking so exquis- 
itely ridiculous, it was scarcely possible to avoid 
laughing. So surprised was he at the unex- 
pected termination of his dreams, he could not 
command skill enough to strike his colors ; which 
was accordingly done by the mate. As they had 
two or three guns aboard, and as some of the men 
looked as if they would like to fight, our captain 
told us, if they fired, to not " leave enough of her 
to boil a tin pot with." After this expressive and 
classical threat, we lowered our boats and took 
possession of this our first prize. 

After taking out as much of her cargo as we 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 189 

desired, just at night we set her on fire. It was 
an imposing sight, to behold the antics of the 
flames, leaping from rope to rope, and from spar 
to spar, until she looked like a fiery cloud resting 
on the dark surface of the water. Presently, her 
spars began to fall, her masts went by the board, 
her loaded guns went off, the hull was burned to 
the water's edge, and what, a few hours before, 
was a fine, trim ship, looking like a winged crea- 
ture of the deep, lay a shapeless, charred mass, 
whose blackened outline, shadowed in the clear, 
still waves, looked like the grim spirit of war 
lurking for its prey. 

This wanton destruction of property was in 
accordance with our instructions, " to sink, burn 
and destroy" whatever we took from the enemy. 
Such is the war-spirit ! Sink, burn and destroy ! 
how it sounds ! Yet such are the instructions 
given by Christian (?) nations to their agents in 
time of war. What Christian will not pray for 
the destruction of such a spirit ? 

The crew of the Barton we carried into St. 
Thomas, and placed them on board the Jane, 
excepting a Portuguese and two colored men, 
who shipped among our crew. We also took 
with us a fine black spaniel dog, whom the 
men called by the name of Paddy. This done, 
we proceeded to watch for fresh victims, on which 
to wreak the vengeance of the war-spirit. 

The next sail we met, was an English brig, 
called the Adventure ; which had a whole mena- 



190 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

gerie of monkeys on board. We captured and 
burned her, just as we did the Barton. Her crew- 
were also disposed of in the same manner. One 
of them, an African prince, who had acquired a 
tolerable education in England, and who was 
remarkably polite and sensible, shipped in the 
Syren. His name was Samuel Quaqua. 

We now remained at St. Thomas several days, 
carrying on a petty trade with the natives. Our 
men bought all kinds of fruit, gold dust and birds. 
For these things, we gave them articles of cloth- 
ing, tobacco, knives, &c. For an old vest, I 
obtained a large basket of oranges ; for a hand 
of tobacco, five large cocoanuts : a profitable 
exchange on my side ; since, although I drew 
my tobacco of the purser, I fortunately never 
acquired the habit of using it ; a loss I never 
regretted. My cocoanuts were far more gratify- 
ing and valuable when we got to sea, parched 
with thirst, and suffering for water; than all the 
tobacco in the ship. 

While in this port, I had to throw myself on the 
protection of the officers, to avoid the disposition 
to abuse which existed in one of the petty officers. 
Several of these gentlemen, who messed together, 
had a large boy to wait on them. He was unac- 
quainted with naval usages, and somewhat awk- 
ward withal. This led them to oppress him: 
they frequently knocked him round, and even 
ventured to flog him with a rope's-end. The 
poor lad used to cry, and fret about it, leading 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 191 

quite a miserable life. By some me?ins, it hap- 
pened that I was ordered to take his place ; and 
I determined to resist their habit of punishing 
their servant ; so, one day, when the gunner came 
below for his share of the whisky, and found i\ 
was gone, his messmates having drank the whole, 
and asked me for his whisky, I boldly answered- 
" I know nothing about it." 

At this, he broke out into a furious passion, 
declaring that if I did not find his whisky h* 
would have my heart's blood. 

To this dignified and manly threat I made no 
reply, but proceeded forthwith to the first lieuten- 
ant, and laid the facts before him. The gunner 
was sent for, reprimanded, and threatened with 
degradation, if ever he either struck or offered to 
strike me again. Of course, I had no further 
trouble with these would-be tyrants. 

The only other difficulty I ever had on board the 
Syren, was with a young midshipman, who was 
on his first voyage — who was, in sailor's language, 
" a real green-horn." He ordered me, one day, 
to wash his clothes. I refused, saying it was not 
my duty. Putting on the air of a pompous man, 
he told me it was my duty to obey an officer, and 
I should do it. I persisted in resisting this sprig 
of American aristocracy, and as I heard no more 
of it, I suppose he learned that he was in the 
wrong. 

The effect of my conduct on the gunner was 
seen a short time afterwards, in the following 



192 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

little incident, which will also show the reader 
the nature of the pranks practised in men of war, 
by the hands. The gunner was a very selfish 
man, and somehow, when we were on short 
allowance of water, he contrived to keep a keg 
filled, which he kept in a small state-room ; and 
a man might choke before he would part with a 
drop. One night, when my throat was parched 
with thirsty I met the boatswain's mate, and said, 
" If I were minded to play the rogue, I could 
hook some water." 

The mate, who was as dry as myself, looked 
mightily gratified at this piece of news, and asked, 
"Where?" 

" I have a key that will fit the lock of the room 
where the gunner keeps his water keg." 

" Well," said he, " give me the key. I will 
be the rogue, while you keep watch for the old 
gunner." 

After drinking all we desired, we locked the 
door and returned to our posts, wondering how 
the gunner would feel when he found that some 
one had been practising the arithmetical rule, 
called reduction, on his water keg. 

The next day the offended gunner threw out 
sundry hints to his messmates about his loss, indi- 
rectly charging them with the robbery. This 
drew down their wrath upon him, and he was 
compelled to be content with swallowing his 
choler, and getting a new lock for his state-room. 
In all his rage he never uttered a word to me : 
he had not forgotten my appeal to his superiors. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 193 

From St. Thomas we proceeded to Angola, 
where we staid long enough to clean, paint and 
refit our brig, from stem to stern. This was the 
last port we intended to touch at on the coast of 
Africa. Our next anchorage was to be in Boston 
harbor — at least so we purposed ; but Providence 
and the British ordered it otherwise. 

To accomplish our object, we had to run the 
gauntlet through the host of English cruisers that 
hovered about, like birds of prey, along both sides 
of the Atlantic coast. This enterprise appeared 
so impossible to my mind, while we lay at Angola, 
and the fear of being retaken and hung operated 
so strongly on my imagination, that, more than 
once, I determined to run away and find a refuge 
among the Africans ; but my better judgment pre- 
vailed at last, and I continued at my post. 

Still, I used every possible precaution to escape 
detection in case of oar capture. In accordance 
with the custom of our navy at that period, I let 
my hair grow long behind. To change my looks 
more effectually, instead of tying mine in a cue as 
the others did, I let it hang in ringlets all round 
my face and neck. This, together with the effect of 
time, caused me to appear quite a different lad 
from what I was, when a boy, on board the Mace- 
donian. I also adopted that peculiarity of dress 
practised by American men-of-war's-men, which 
consisted in wearing my shirt open at the neck, 
with the corners thrown back. On these corners 
a device was wrought, consisting of the stars of 
17 



194 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

the American flag, with the British flag under- 
neath. By these means I hoped to pass for a 
genuine Yankee, without suspicion, in case we 
should fall into English hands. 

Having finished our preparations, we left An- 
gola for Boston. We reached the island of As- 
cension in safety, where was a post-office of a 
truly patriarchal character. A box is nailed to a 
post near the shore. Ships that pass send to the 
box and deposit or take out letters, as the case 
may be. This is probably the cheapest general 
post-office establishment in the world. 

We had scarcely left this island before the cry 
of " Sail ho ! " arrested every ear. Supposing her to 
be a large merchantman, we made towards her ; 
but a nearer approach made it doubtful whether 
she was an Indiaman or a man of war. The cap- 
tain judged her to be the latter, and tacked ship 
immediately. He was unwilling to place himself 
in the situation of an American privateer, who, 
mistaking a seventy-four for a merchantman, ran 
his ship close alongside, and boldly summoned her 
to haul down her colors. The captain of the other 
ship coolly replied, " I am not in the habit of strik- 
ing my colors." At the same moment the ports 
of his ship were opened, and disclosed her long 
ranges of guns, yawning over the decks of the priva- 
teer. Perceiving his mistake, the privateer, with 
admirable tact and good humor, said, " Well, if you 
won't, I will," and pulling down his bunting, sur- 
rendered to his more powerful foe. To avoid 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 195 

such a mistake as this, our captain made all sail 
to escape the coming stranger, which was now 
bearing down upon us under a heavy pressure of 
canvass, revealing, as she gained upon our 
little brig, that she bore the formidable character 
of a seventy-four gun ship, under English colors. 

Of course, fighting was out of the question. It 
would be like the assault of a dog on an elephant,. 
or a dolphin on a whale. We therefore crowded 
all possible sail, threw our guns,, cables, anchors, 
hatches, &c, overboard, to increase her speed. 
But it soon became apparent that we could not 
escape. The wind blew quite fresh, which gave 
•our opponent the advantage : she gained on us 
very fast. We shifted our course, in hopes to 
baffle her until night, when we felt pretty sure of 
getting out of her way. It was of no use, she still 
gained, until we saw ourselves almost within gun- 
shot of our opponent. 

In this extremity, the captain ordered the quar- 
termaster, George Watson, to throw the private 
signals overboard. This was a hard task for the 
bold-hearted fellow. As he pitched them into the 
sea, he said, " Good-bye, brother Yankee ;" an ex- 
pression which, in spite of their mortifying situa- 
tion, forced a smile from the lips of the officers. 

The sound of a gun now came booming through 
the air. It was a signal for us to heave to, or 
to look out for consequences. What might have 
been, we learned afterwards, for a division of the 
crew of the seventy-four had orders to sink us if 
we made ihe least show of resistance. Finding it 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 197 

useless to prolong the chase, our commander re- 
luctantly ordered the flag to be struck. We then 
hove to, and our foe came rolling down upon us, 
looking like a huge avalanche rushing down the 
mountain side to crush some poor peasant's dwell- 
ing. Her officers stood on her quarter deck, 
glancing unutterable pride, while her captain 
shouted, " What brig is that ? " 

" The United States brig Syren," replied Cap- 
tain Nicholson. 

" This is his Britannic Majesty's ship Med- 
way ! " he answered. " I claim you as my lawful 
prize." 

Boats were then lowered, the little brig taken 
from us, and our crew transferred to the Medway, 
stowed away in the cable tier, and put in messes 
of twelve, with an allowance of only eight men's 
rations to a mess ; a regulation which caused us 
considerable suffering from hunger. The sight 
of the marines on board the Medway made me 
tremble, for my fancy pointed out several of them 
as having formerly belonged to the Macedonian. I 
really feared I was destined to speedily swing at the 
yard-arm ; it was, however, a groundless alarm. 

This event happened July 12, 1814. Only 
eight days before, we had celebrated the indepen- 
dence of our country, by dancing and splicing the 
main-brace. Now we had a fair prospect of a 
rigorous imprisonment. Such are the changes 
which constantly occur under the rule of the war- 
spirit. 

17* 



198 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

The day subsequent to our capture, we were 
marched to the quarter deck with our clothes- 
bags, where we underwent a strict search. We 
were ordered to remove our outside garments for 
this purpose. They expected to find us in pos- 
session of large quantities of gold dust. What 
little our crew had purchased was taken from 
them, with a spirit of rapacity altogether beneath 
the dignity of a naval commander. 

Our short allowance was a source of much dis- 
comfort in this our prison-ship. But, in the true 
spirit of sailors, we made even this a subject of 
coarse jests and pleasant remark. Some would 
sit and paint the luxuries of shore life until our 
mouths watered at the idea of soft tack, fried 
eggs, sausages, and those other delicacies which 
go to make up a sailor's idea of a sensual para- 
dise. Others would discourse about roast beef, 
boiled lamb, and caper sauce ; to which some old 
weather-beaten tar would answer, " Give me the 
lamb and a knife and fork, and I will cut capers 
enough." This would draw out peals of laughter, 
to be followed by various yarns of feasts gone by, 
and of sprees enjoyed on liberty and pay-days. 
Thus we beguiled our time ; though, with all our 
laughing, we could not laugh away the clamors of 
our hungry stomachs ; and when I took my turn 
of a few minutes on deck, the gift of a piece of 
hard, dry biscuit, afforded me more gustatory 
delight, than would the taste of the richest pound- 
cake, now that I have an abundance of food. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 199 

Enduring this evil, we proceeded on our course. 
"When the Medway arrived at Simon's Town, 
about twenty-one miles from the Cape of Good 
Hope, we met the Denmark, seventy-four, on her 
way to England, with prisoners from Cape Town. 
The captain had hitherto intended to land us at 
the latter place, but the presence of the Denmark 
led him to change his purpose, and land us at 
Simon's Town. 

The journey from this place to the Cape was 
one of great suffering to our crew. We were 
received on the beach by. a file of Irish soldiers. 
Under their escort we proceeded seven miles, 
through heaps of burning sand, seeing nothing 
worthy of notice on the way, but a number of men 
busily engaged in cutting up dead whales on the 
sea-shore. 

After resting a short time, we recommenced 
our march, guarded by a new detachment of sol- 
diers. Unused to walking as we were, we began 
to grow excessively fatigued ; and, after wading a 
stream of considerable depth, we were so over- 
come, that it seemed impossible to proceed any 
farther. We lay down, discouraged and wretched, 
on the sand. The guard brought us some bread, 
and gave half-a-pint of wine to each man. This 
revived us somewhat. We were now placed 
under a guard of dragoons. They were very 
kind, and urged us to attempt the remaining seven 
miles. To relieve us, they carried our clothes- 
bags on their horses ; and overtaking some Dutch 



200 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

farmers, going to the Cape with broom-stuff and 
brush, the officer of the dragoons made them 
carry the most weary among us in their wagons. 
It is not common for men to desire the inside of 
a prison, but I can assure my readers we did most 
heartily wish ourselves there, on that tedious 
journey. At last, about nine o'clock, P. M., we 
arrived at Cape Town, having left one of our 
number at Wineburg, through exhaustion, who 
joined us the next day. Stiff, sore, and weary, 
we hastily threw ourselves on the hard boards of 
our prison, where, without needing to be soothed 
or rocked, we slept profoundly until late the next 
morning. For a description of our prison, with 
what happened to us there, the reader is referred 
to the succeeding chapter. 



CHAPTER X. 

Description of our prison — Rules adopted — A petty annoy- 
ance cured — A lesson given to a Dutchman — Quality 
of our provisions — Dainties — Amusements — A suicide 
— The slaves of Cape Town — Table mountain and the 
Lion's Rump — The hospital — The author visits it — 
Feigns sickness — The Trunk — The surgeon's passion, 
and its consequences — A Dutch wedding — A plot — Dis- 
covery — Rumored visit of a missionary — True feelings 
of seamen on religious subjects — Anecdote — Mr. Thorn's 
visit — Religious meetings — Seriousness — The author's 
dream — A pleasant rumor — Presents of the prisoners 
to Mr. Thorn — The author's alarm — Embarkation on 
board the Cumberland — Voyage to St, Helena — A 
transfer — A cause for great fear — An American ship — • 
Tidings of the renewal of the French war — Its reception 
by the officers and crew of the Grampus — Arrival at Spit- 
head — Transfer to the Puissant — Anecdote — Removed 
to the Rover and conveyed to Plymouth — Placed on 
board the Royal Sovereign — Transferred to the Wood- 
rop Simms — Sail for America — A terrible gale — Arrival 
at New York — Placed on board the Tom Bowling — The 
Syren's crew paid off — Life in a boarding-house — 
Good resolutions evaporate — Money soon expended — 
The author ships in the brig Boxer. 

The next morning- we took a survey of our 
new quarters. We found ourselves placed in 



202 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

a large yard, surrounded by high walls, and 
strongly guarded by soldiers. Within this inclos- 
ure, there was a building, or shed, composed of 
three rooms, neither of which had any floor. 
Round the sides stood three benches or stages, 
one above the other, to serve for berths. On 
these we spread our hammocks and bed-clothes, 
making them tolerably comfortable places to sleep 
in. A few of the men preferred to sling their 
hammocks, as they did at sea. Here, also, we 
used to eat, unless, as was our frequent practice, 
we did so in the open air. 

Our officers had been sent thirty miles inland, 
so that we had lest the natural exactors of disci- 
pline among seamen. To remedy this deficiency, 
our first step was to adopt a set of regulations in 
respect to order, cleanliness, &c, and to appoint 
certain of our number to enforce them. 

We experienced some unpleasantness, at first, 
from the insolence of some of the sergeants com- 
manding the prison guard. Most of these petty 
officers were very friendly and kind, but two or 
three of them manifested a surly, tyrannical tem- 
per, annoying us in many little things, enough to 
embitter our enjoyment, while they were on duty. 
This petty despotism we soon cured, by returning 
their abuse in a rather provoking kind of coin. 
We used to plague them by causing a long delay 
when the hour arrived for them to be relieved. 
They were required to muster us every morning, 
that we might be counted before the new guard 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 203 

took us in charge. On those occasions some 
would purposely absent themselves ; others were 
sent to find the absentees ; these, in their turn, 
would hide themselves, and require to be sought 
by others. This was excessively vexatious to the 
soldiers, and as it occurred only when a tyranni- 
cal sergeant was on guard, they soon understood 
its meaning. The plan was successful, and we 
thus got rid of one source of discomfort. 

Our next difficulty was with the old Dutchman, 
named Badiem, who furnished our prison with 
provisions. He had already learned the difficulty 
of cheating a Yankee ; for the Americans who 
were carried away in the Denmark had been in 
this same prison, and had taught the old man that 
they were rougher customers than the Frenchmen 
who had preceded them. We gave him another 
lesson. 

He undertook to wrong us and benefit himself, 
by furnishing a very inferior article of bread. 
After counselling among ourselves, we took the 
following plan to bring him to his senses. 

We were visited every day by a superior offi- 
cer, called the officer of the day. He was a kind 
old man, who had seen service in the war of 
the revolution, and was at the battle of Bun- 
ker Hill. He had a profound respect for the 
American character, and could not speak of that 
great action without tears. One day, a friendly 
sergeant being on duty, we gave him a piece of 
the old Dutchman's bread, complaining bitterly of 



204 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

its quality. When the old officer came round, as 
usual, on a fine, dashing charger, and asked his 
customary question of " All right ? " our friend the 
sergeant replied, " No, sir ! " 

" What is the matter ? " asked the venerable 
old gentleman. 

" The prisoners complain of their bread, sir,'' 
said the sergeant. 

" Let me see it," answered the general. The 
sergeant gave tarn a small piece. He examined 
it, wrapped it up carefully in some paper, clapped 
the spurs to his horse, and rode off. The next 
day, we had better bread than ever before, and an 
order came for a man from each room to go with 
the sentry to the town every morning, to examine 
our daily provision ; and, if not what it should be, 
to reject it. This completely upset the golden 
visions of the old Dutchman. With much choler 
he exclaimed, "I had rather have one tousand 
Frenchmen, than one hundred Yankees." 

We could not now complain of our fare. We 
had an abundance of beef and mutton, beside a 
full allowance of bread, &c. The beef, to be sure, 
was poor, lean stuff, but the mutton was excellent. 
The sheep at the Cape have a peculiarity, which 
may cause the reader to smile. They have enor- 
mously large, flat tails, weighing from twelve to 
twenty pounds. These are regularly sold by the 
pound for purposes of cookery. Should any 
one treat this statement as a forecastle yarn, 1 



SIX YEARS IN A "MAN OF WAR. 205 

refer him to the descriptions of these sheep, given 
by travellers and naturalists.^ 

Besides our prison allowance, we had opportu- 
nity to purchase as many little luxuries and nice- 
ties as our slender finances would permit. These 
were furnished by a slave, who was the property 
of the old Dutchman, and who was so far a favor- 
ite as to be indulged with two wives, and the 
privilege of selling sundry small articles to the 
prisoners. This sable polygamist furnished us 
with coffee, made from burnt barley, for a double- 
gee (an English penny t) per pint; the same 
sum would purchase a sausage, a piece of fish, or 
a glass of rum. On equally reasonable terms, he 
furnished us with blackberries, oranges, &c. Our 
men, who, by the way, had eaten fruit in every 
quarter of the globe, and were therefore competent 
judges, pronounced the latter the best in the world. 
The berries afforded me a rich treat at Christmas. 

To obtain means for the purchase of these 
dainties, our men braided hats, wrought at me- 

# The Barbary sheep entirely resembles the tame kind, 
excepting in the tail, which is very much loaded with fat, 
is often more than a foot broad, and weighs upwards of 
twenty pounds. Among this kind of broad-tailed sheep, 
there are some whose tails are so long and heavy, that the 
shepherds are obliged to fasten a small board with wheels, 
to support them as they walk along. This tail, which is a 
substance between marrow and fat, is considered a great 
delicacy. — See System of Natural History. Boston : Carter, 
Hendee fy Co., 1834. 

t Twenty-four doublegees made a rix dollar. 
18 



206 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

chanical employments, or at such pursuits as their 
respective tastes and capacities suggested. These 
occupations served to beguile our confinement of 
much of its tediousness. 

Still, we had many vacant, listless hours. To 
fill them, we resorted to the demoralizing practice 
of gambling. A game with balls, called shake- 
bag, loo, venture, all-fours, &c, occupied our 
evening hours, and sometimes the whole night. It 
was not uncommon for the game to be protracted 
beyond the midnight hour of Saturday, into the 
sacred moments of the holy Sabbath. On one of 
these guilty mornings, some of us, on retiring to 
a shed, found the dead body of a black slave, 
hanging by the rope, with which, in a moment of 
unpardonable despair, he had committed the horrid 
crime of suicide. The hour, the scene, the place, 
our recent guilty profanation of God's holy day, 
conspired to fill many of us with profound dread. 
In my own mind it led to a few transient purposes 
of amendment. Alas ! when the bright sun arose, 
these purposes had vanished. The influence of 
vice triumphed. I grew more and more hardened 
in wickedness. 

Cape Town contained a large slave population. 
These poor wretches had been extremely degraded 
under the rule of the Dutch. It was said that their 
condition had been essentially improved since the 
conquest of the place by the English. Still, as 
the suicide just mentioned demonstrated, slavery 
was a bitter draught. The British have done 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 207 

wisely since then in granting; freedom to the 
slaves in all their colonies. May the whole world 
imitate the noble example ! 

We were subjected to frequent and violent gales 
of wind while here. The approach of these 
storms was always faithfully proclaimed by the 
mountain that towered up behind us ; a large 
white cloud, resting on its summit, like a table- 
cloth, was a certain indication of the elemental 
warfare. Whenever this phenomenon appeared, 
our men used to remark, " Look out for a blow, the 
cloth is beginning to spread." Very soon the 
vessels in the bay could be seen striking their top- 
gallant masts and yards, and sometimes even 
housing their top-masts. In a few minutes the 
ocean would give signs of the coming commotion ; 
the waves became crested with clouds of foam, and 
the spirit of the storm was seen careering in 
triumph over the liquid mountains of the angry 
deep. 

Besides Table mountain, there was another 
near it, called the Lion's Rump, from its similarity 
to that noble animal in a sitting posture. On the 
summit of this mountain was a telegraph, which 
informed us, in common with the people of the 
Cape, of the approach of shipping to the harbor. 

At the town, the British had a hospital for the 
accommodation of their army and navy. The 
advantages of this institution were humanely and 
properly offered to us, whenever we were sick. 
Happening to be quite unwell one day, my ship- 



208 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

mates advised me to go thither. Now, on board 
the Syren, when in a similar state, the surgeon 
had administered an ounce of Glauber salts. The 
dose caused such nausea, that from that time I 
held salts in profound abhorrence. When the 
hospital was suggested to me, I associated it with 
the idea of salts, and, shuddering, remarked that 
" I would go if I thought they would not give me 
salts." My shipmates all said they thought I 
should not have salts prescribed : so, under the 
guard of a sentry, I sallied forth to the hospital. 
" Well, my boy," said the doctor, " what 's the 
matter with you ? " 

With many wry faces, I told him my symptoms ; 
when, to my inconceivable mortification and dis- 
gust, he spoke to a sort of lob-lolly boy, who waited 
upon him, and said, " Doctor Jack ! bring this boy 
six ounces of salts." 

This was intolerable. One ounce had sickened 
me for months at the bare mention of salts, and 
now I was to swallow six ! It seemed impossible. 
The remedy was worse than the disease. I wish- 
ed myself back at my quarters. This was, how- 
ever, in vain, unless I took a dangerous leap from 
the window. I must submit. The salts were 
brought, but they were not so bad, either in qual- 
ity or quantity, as my dose in the Syren. The 
reason I found to consist in the fact, that they 
were Epsom instead of Glauber, and that the six 
ounces included the weight of the water in which 
they were dissolved. So well was I pleased with 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 209 

my visit to the hospital, and especially with the 
privilege afforded me of walking about the streets 
of Cape Town, that I afterwards feigned illness 
to gain another admission. I was willing to take 
the salts for the sake of the liberty of jaunting 
about the streets. Of the sin of lying I thought 
nothing. I was a sailor, caring little for aught 
but present gratification. The beauty of truth I 
had never seen ; the hatefulness of a lie I had 
never learned. Most gratefully do I acknowledge 
that Divine goodness, which has since effectually 
taught me both the one and the other. 

At Cape Town there was a small prison, called 
" the Trunk." To this place those of our num- 
ber, who were disorderly, were sent, to be closely 
confined, on no other diet than bread and water, 
for as many days as the commandant might des- 
ignate. We always quietly permitted any offender 
among us to be sent thither without resistance : 
but when, on one occasion, an attempt was made 
to confine two of our shipmates unjustly, we gave 
them a demonstration, which saved us afterwards 
from any similar attempt. 

Two of our men had hung out some clothes, 
they had just washed, in our yard, near their own 
shed. Now, it happened that the doctor to the 
military stationed at the Cape, had an entrance to 
his office through our yard. The clothes were un- 
designedly hung across his path, compelling him 
either to stoop a little in passing, or to ask their 
removal. He was too proud to adopt either of 
18* 



210 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

these peaceful methods, but, with manifest spite' 
fulness, he took out his knife and cut the line, so 
that the clothes fell into the dirt. The owners, 
seeing their wet clothing in this condition, broke 
out into passionate inquiries after the offender. 
" It was the English doctor," replied one of our 
shipmates, who had witnessed the whole affair. 
This brought forth a volley of sailors' oaths from 
the offended parties. The enraged doctor over- 
heard their wrathful ebullitions, and, without fur- 
ther ceremony, ordered the two men to be carried 
to the Trunk. 

Here, then, was a manifest case of injustice. 
We resolved not to submit to it, let the conse- 
quences be what they might. When the sergeant 
came in for the doctor's victims, we all turned out 
in a body, declaring we would all go to the Trunk 
together. The sergeant, seeing us in this state of 
rebellion, called out the whole guard, and ordered 
them to load and fire upon us. We were not 
however so easily scared. We shouted, " Fire 
away ! You will have but one fire, and then it 
will be our turn." At the same time we picked 
up all the broken glass, sticks, stones, &c, which 
were within our reach, and stood waiting for 
their firing as the signal for a general melee. 
The sergeant, seeing our resolution, and wisely 
considering that our superiority in numbers, might 
secure us a victory over the handful composing 
his guard, ordered the soldiers to retire. We 
never heard any more of the little doctor's indig- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 211 

nation : it probably evaporated, like the moisture 
from the clothes his petty indignation had thrown 
to the ground. How insignificant such acts 
appear, in men professing to be gentlemen ! 

Shortly after this event, we were thrown into 
confusion and temporary excitement, by the ap- 
proach of a large party to our prison, at midnight, 
attended by a band of music, We turned out and 
rushed to the gate of our yard. The guard turned 
out likewise, trembling under the impression that 
our countrymen had captured the town and were 
coming to give us our liberty. Their fears and 
our wonder were quieted, however, by a speedy 
discovery of the true character of this midnight 
party. It was a Dutch wedding, coming to the 
house of the old Dutchman, our caterer ; the 
entrance to which being in our yard, the party 
had to pass directly through our territories ; which 
they did, their band playing the tune of " A free 
and accepted Mason." 

Notwithstanding we were in tolerably comforta- 
ble circumstances, our confinement soon became 
exceedingly irksome. We pined for freedom; 
we longed to get once more where the " old grid- 
iron " floated in fearless triumph. A report of 
the burning of Washington by the British added 
not a little to our desire. We began to talk 
of home. This led to other suggestions ; these 
to the formation of plans for our escape. We 
at length concerted a measure, which was, to 
break from the prison in the night, disarm and 



212 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

confine the guard, help ourselves to boats, and 
cut out some large ship, in which we might make 
our escape to America. The success of this plot, 
however, was never tested ; for, reaching the ears 
of the commander, the guards were strengthened ; 
the light dragoons ordered out to patrol the har- 
bor ; and such other preventive measures adopted, 
as cut off all hope of forcible escape. Our only 
remedy for this disappointment, was submission, 
and boastings of what we would have done, had 
we got into the strife for liberty. 

As the period of our imprisonment drew towards 
a close, we were informed that the Rev. George 
Thorn, a missionary, was desirous to come and 
preach to us. Some of our men objected, because, 
they said, he would preach about his king, and 
they had no desire to hear anything about kings. 
Others said, " Let him come ; we will hear him 
with attention, and if we don't like him we can 
afterwards stay away. At any rate, don't let us 
abuse him ; but rather show him that Americans 
know what is good behavior." 

This reply shows the true spirit of the mass of 
seamen in respect to religion; for though they 
care little about personal piety, they will not, usu- 
ally, unless intoxicated, insult a minister. This 
was once shown in the experience of the eccentric 
Rowland Hill ; when a mob threatened the old 
gentleman with mischief, some sailors present 
rallied round him, threatening vengeance on any 
who dared to insult the preacher. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 213 

Accordingly, we sent our respects to Mr. Thorn, 
inviting him to favor us with a visit. We then 
cleaned and fitted up one room with, benches. 
The following Sabbath he came. His preaching 
was earnest, simple and interesting. Instead of 
discoursing about kings, as some had predicted, 
the only king about whom he preached, was the 
King of heaven. We invited him to come again. 
He accepted the invitation, and our meetings 
soon began to be profitable and interesting. We 
had singing, for several of our men were tolerable 
singers, and they were aided by the presence of 
some pious soldiers from the garrison, and occa- 
sionally by Mrs. Thorn, the amiable lady of our 
excellent preacher. Our officers, too, frequently 
came from their residence, and were pleased to 
see the good order and happiness apparent on 
these occasions. I assure my readers, that the 
most delightful moments of our imprisonment 
were those we spent in singing some sweet hymn, 
in the good old-fashioned tunes of Bridge water, 
Russia, Wells, &c. 

Among the texts used by Mr. Thorn, I remem- 
ber the following : " Turn ye to the strong-hold, 
ye prisoners of hope;" Zech. ix. 12. " Behold, I 
stand at the door and knock," &c. ; Rev. iii. 20. 
" And yet there is room ;" Luke xiv. 22. It was 
really pleasing to hear the various remarks made 
by our men, after listening to faithful discourses 
from these and similar texts. One would remark, 
" He hit me a clew." To this another would re- 



214 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

ply, "He shot away my colors." A third would 
add, " He shot away my rigging;" while a fourth 
would say, "He gave me a shot;" and a fifth, 
" He gave me a broadside." Thus, in their rough 
way, did they express the impressions made on 
their minds by the discourse. 

Mr. Thorn was a faithful servant of his Mas- 
ter, the Lord Jesus Christ. He did not rest satis- 
fied with these public efforts, but, during the week, 
he visited us for the purpose of serious conversa- 
tion. Several of us were really under strong 
conviction, and would confess, at these inquiry 
meetings, and to each other as we paced the yard, 
how often we had sinned, even cursing our Ma- 
ker when on the yard at night, amid the roaring 
of the storm, the bellowing of the thunder, and the 
angry flashing of the lightning. A happy practi- 
cal effect followed. Gambling ceased, cards and 
shake-bag lost their charms. The time was 
spent in reading useful books. Bibles and reli- 
gious books were given or loaned to us. Among 
these were Baxter's Call, Doddridge's Rise and 
Progress of Religion, &c. To some extent we were 
altered men. Had we remained much longer 
under these gracious influences, most of us, I 
think, would have become experimental Chris- 
tians. As it was, the seed was not wholly wasted. 
Impressions were made, which, no doubt, have, 
in many cases, yielded rich fruit long before 
this. 

My own mind was strongly wrought upon. A 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 215 

singular dream added to my seriousness. In my 
dream, I saw myself drowning, while a fierce- 
looking soldier was pointing his loaded musket at 
my head. Thus death threatened me from two 
sources. In this extremity my anguish was very 
great. All my gracious opportunities passed be- 
fore me, but now it seemed too late for salvation. 
" Oh," thought I in my sleep, " what would I 
give, if this were only a dream ! How faithfully 
would I serve the Lord when I awoke." Just at 
that moment I did awake, scarcely able to convince 
myself that the ideal scene was not an awful real- 
ity. That day I eagerly sought the missionary, 
and sat with serious delight listening to his in- 
structions. Still I did not give myself up to the 
service of Christ. So difficult was it for me to 
make the requisite sacrifice of my beloved sins. 

Just at this interesting crisis, a glad report of 
peace between England and America reached our 
prison. With joyful faces we assembled round 
the good man, when he came that day, to inquire 
if it was really so. While he assured us of its 
truth, he mildly asked " if it was peace with Hea- 
ven;" assuring us that it was a matter of the 
greatest importance for us to be at peace with 
God. 

As a memento of our esteem for Mr. Thorn, we 
made him several little presents. One of them 
was a hat made from a bullock's horn. The horn 
was peeled into narrow slips, these were scraped, 
split, and braided like straw, and then sewed to- 



216 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

gether. We also made him a model of a ship, 
fully rigged from stem to stern. The missionary 
received these marks of our regard with evident 
pleasure ; and, no doubt, when looking upon them 
afterwards, offered many a prayer for the salvation 
of the prisoners, who were, for many weeks, the 
subjects of his anxiety and labors. Blessings rest 
on him, if he yet lives ! Peace to his ashes, if he 
slumbers among the dead ! 

Great was the joy of my companions, when the 
news reached us that we were to embark shortly, 
in the Cumberland, seventy-four, for England. 
Little was now said or done, except what related 
to our departure. With strange, yet common per- 
versity of conduct, serious matters were laid aside 
for the one absorbing thought, " We shall soon be 
free ! " Thus, an event which should have given 
birth to gratitude and religious service, only served 
for an occasion of further neglect and unthank- 
fulness. How strangely wicked is the human 
heart ! 

For myself, the tidings filled me with fear. 
Directly to America I would have gladly gone ; 
but to be carried to England, in one of her ships 
of war, was like going to certain death. How 
was it possible for me to escape detection ? How 
could I avoid meeting with some old Macedo- 
nians, who would, of course, recognise and betray 
me ? These questions had resolved me to volun- 
teer to remain at the Cape, a short time before, when 
some of our number were sent to England. Now, 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 21? 

they tortured me beyond endurance. I felt like 
an escaped criminal with the officers of justice at 
his heels. Death at the yard-arm haunted me day 
and night, like the fancied ghost of a murdered 
man, staring ghastly at the window of his mur- 
derer. No one can imagine my uneasiness, unless 
he has been placed in a similar situation. I made 
many promises to God that if he would carry me 
in safety to America, I would cease to be a 
swearer, and would most punctually attend his 
house every Sabbath. These things constituted 
my highest ideas of human duty at that time ; 
but even these promises, like those made during 
the heat of the battle in the Macedonian, were 
made to be broken. 

After a little delay, we were conveyed on board 
the Cumberland, where we soon heard the well- 
known summons of " All hands up anchor, ahoy ! " 
A cloud of canvass dropped from her gigantic 
yards ; the sportive breeze came obedient to our 
wish ; and the huge form of the Cumberland, ac- 
companied by a large convoy of merchant vessels, 
was borne rapidly along upon the yielding waves. 
Cape Town, Table Mountain, the Lion's Rump, 
and our prison-yard, were soon left far behind, 
leaving no traces of their existence on the distant 
horizon ; they were to be known to us hereafter 
only among the images of the brain — as recollec- 
tions, not as realities. We had spent eight 
months in the prison of Cape Town. 

Our treatment in this ship was superior to what 
19 



218 A VOICE PROM THE MAIN DECK. 

we received in the Medway. Instead of the 
cable tier, we had berths on the upper gun deck, 
and our allowance of food was sufficient for our 
wants. 

Arriving at St. Helena, we remained a few 
days in port. This rough, rock-bound island 
had not yet received its future prisoner, the em- 
peror of France. Here we were removed from 
the Cumberland. Twenty-four of us were sent 
on board the Grampus, of fifty guns, the rest 
were sent home in our old conqueror, the Med- 
way ; my lot being cast among the former. 

This transfer to the Grampus greatly alarmed 
me ; since the more men I saw, the greater, of 
course, was my chance of detection. I had already 
escaped being known on board of two seventy- 
fours; but I could not promise myself the same 
impunity much longer. However, as I saw no 
one whose face was familiar, when I went on 
board, I felt a little more easy. But that night, I 
had occasion for great trepidation and alarm. 
About nine o'clock, I heard the order from an 
officer, of " Pass the word for the boy Leech." 
This was followed by several voices hallooing, 
" Boy Leech ! boy Leech ! " My heart beat like 
a trip-hammer against my bosom, and a cold 
sweat crept over my whole body. My shipmates 
said they meant me ; but I would not reply. After 
a few moments, I breathed more freely, and the 
fear of death passed away. I heard some one 
saying, " Your master wants you ;" which con- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 219 

vinced me that there was a " boy Leech " among 
the crew of the Grampus, as well as another boy 
Leech among the American prisoners. 

On our passage, we made a strange sail. Com- 
ing up to her, to our infinite satisfaction we beheld 
the stars and stripes at her mast-head. " Brother 
Jonathan has come to town," said one of our 
men. " He is a most welcome visitor," the rest 
replied ; for indeed " the old gridiron " never 
looked so pleasant as it did then. This meeting 
confirmed us in the report of peace between the 
two nations. This was as gratifying to the crew 
of the Grampus as to us ; for they had recently 
heard that the war with France was ended, and 
they were all hoping to get discharged. This 
expectation was defeated, however, by intelligence 
from some passing ship, that Napoleon was at 
Paris again, with a force of sixty thousand men. 

Nothing could exceed the joy of the officers, 
and the vexation of the crew, at this piece of 
information. The former dreaded a peace, be- 
cause it would place many of them on half-pay ; 
while the chances of war inspired them with 
hopes of promotion; hence they ran alongside 
almost every ship in the fleet, shouting, " Have 
you heard the news ? Bonaparte has got to Paris 
with sixty thousand men ! " Really, some of 
them seemed crazy with joy at the idea of pro- 
tracted war. Not so, however, the seamen ; they 
longed for peace, since war only brought them 
hard usage, wounds and death. While, therefore, 



220 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

the officers were rejoicing, they were muttering 
curses and oaths, wishing Bonaparte and his 
army at perdition. Nor was it strange that they 
felt thus ; for the discipline on board the Grampus 
was excessively severe. They were constantly 
flogging in the most harsh and cruel manner. 
The Syrens were astonished at what they saw ; 
for, on board our brig, we seldom saw more than 
a dozen lashes inflicted at one time, and that not 
very often. 

At last we came in sight of the white cliffs of 
old England. To avoid suspicion, I appeared 
much interested in everything I saw on the coast, 
and asked the men all those questions which are 
natural to a stranger, when he sees a new coun- 
try for the first time. These inquiries they 
answered with the utmost good humor; for an 
Englishman is proud of his country, notwith- 
standing he may find hard usage from her hands. 

My American friends have frequently asked if 
my language did not excite suspicion that I was 
English. It never did to my knowledge ; indeed, 
so free was I from English provincialisms, that it 
was often remarked to me, that I " needed no 
protection ;" meaning, that I should be taken for 
a Yankee, without offering proof. 

With all this in my favor, I could not behold 
myself approaching my native soil, without many 
misgivings. To a man who knows a halter is 
hanging over his head, everything furnishes cause 
for alarm; a piercing look, a whisper, or the 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 221 

sudden mention of his name, is a cause of dis- 
quietude, sufficient to stir his inmost soul. Cap- 
tain Nicholson gave me no little uneasiness, by 
sending for me one day, just before we arrived in 
port, to make some inquiries about Mr. Crownin- 
shield, of Salem, Mass. Luckily, I could say I 
had seen him ; beyond that, I could give no fur- 
ther information. He supposed me to be a native 
of Salem, while I was quaking, through a fearful 
expectation of being found nearly as ignorant of 
that city, as I had been, on another occasion, of 
the city of Philadelphia. 

At length we reached Spithead, and were 
removed to an old prison-ship, called the Puissant, 
which had once belonged to the French. Here 
we were treated with great lenity ; we were even 
allowed liberty to go on shore. Had I dared, I 
would have run away ; the dread of the halter 
restrained me ! I did not even venture to write, 
lest my mother should be tempted to visit me, or 
even to write ; since even a letter from any place 
in England, might awaken suspicion concerning 
my true character. 

An instance of maternal imprudence was said 
to have occurred in this port on board another 
ship. A poor woman went on board and inquired 
for her son, who had run from the British service, 
and was then among the captive crew of an 
American prize. They told her there was no 
one of that name among the crew. " He is 
among the Yankees," said she. Hearing this, 
19* 



222 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

the prisoners were called up, and the poor, affec- 
tionate, but ill-judging mother, singled out her 
son, and embracing him, said, " I have brought 
you a clean shirt ! " 

The lieutenant, who stood by them, stepped up, 
remarking to the thunder-stricken man, " It 's a 
clean shirt you want, is it ? I will give you a 
clean handkerchief" — meaning that he would be 
hung. The unhappy youth was accordingly 
ironed, in presence of the astounded mother, who 
now beheld herself the unintentional murderess 
of her son. A court-martial was held, and the 
brutal prediction of the lieutenant verified. 

After a stay of several weeks in the old Puis- 
sant, orders came for our transfer to the Rover, a 
gun-brig, which had orders to carry us to Ply- 
mouth. Here was a double risk again before me. 
I had to risk being known by the crew of the 
Rover, and by the many persons who had known 
me at Plymouth. However, the good hand of 
Providence was with me to preserve me. We 
reached our port in safety, where, to our great 
delight, we heard that the Woodrop Simms, of 
Philadelphia, was to be the cartel to convey us to 
America. 

Before we were allowed to tread her decks, 
however, we had to spend two or three days on 
board the Royal Sovereign, of one hundred and 
ten guns, because the Woodrop Simms was not 
quite ready to receive us. Here I was exposed 
to the gaze of eight hundred men ; but none of 



SiX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 223 

them knew me. Indeed, this was my most haz- 
ardous situation ; for the Sovereign and Macedo- 
nian had sailed in company before the capture of 
the latter. Whenever any of her men came near 
our quarters, I endeavored to look cross-eyed, or 
closed one eye so as to appear partially blind ; and 
in various other ways altered my appearance, so 
that even an old shipmate would have been puz- 
zled to recognise me at first. 

At last, the grateful news reached us that the 
cartel was ready. We went on board with great 
gaiety, where we met our shipmates who had left 
the Cape before us. They had been confined in 
the celebrated Dartmouth prison, with a number 
of other prisoners, where they had met with rather 
rough treatment and rougher fare. They were 
present at what they called the Massacre. Sev- 
eral of the prisoners were detected in an effort to 
escape. To strike terror into the poor victims, 
Captain Shortland ordered his men to fire in upon 
them. Quite a number were killed, and more 
wounded, by this cold-blooded act; the rest sought 
the shelter of the prison walls. Several Ameri- 
cans suffered in this wanton assault. Our meet- 
ing at this juncture was a source of mutual 
gratulation. 

Our ship was now surrounded with boats con- 
taining provisions of all descriptions. To our 
surprise, the Dartmouth men bought freely of 
everything. Where they obtained their money, 
we could not imagine. We learned afterwards 



224 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

that their stock consisted of counterfeit coins, 
manufactured by the prisoners ! It was well for 
them that our ship put to sea before John Bull's 
peace officers received information of the fraud. 
What a school for every species of vice is opened 
by war ! The corruptions and vices occasioned 
by the operation of this system, are beyond the 
power of the imagination to conceive. 

My feelings were peculiar as I beheld my 
native land receding from my vision. I was 
happy, and yet sad. Happy, because I was now 
safe ; sad, because I was again leaving the soil 
which held my mother and my friends. On the 
whole, my joyous feelings prevailed. 

A few days out, we were hailed by an English 
frigate. She sent a boat alongside to make some 
inquiries, and left us to pursue our way in peace. 
We were all in good spirits ; our men being 
divided into watches to assist the crew of the 
ship; our officers all snugly quartered in the 
cabin, and myself appointed to assist the steward ; 
an office quite agreeable to one who had lived on 
prisoners' fare more than a year,^ because it 
brought me a few of the spare luxuries from the 
officers' table. 

One morning, shortly after the English frigate 
had boarded us, Captain Nicholson asked me 
something about Salem. I smiled. He inquired 

* We were captured July 12, 1814 ; it was now August, 
1815. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 225 

why I laughed. " Sir," said I, " Salem is not my 
native place by considerable." 

" What do you mean ? " asked the captain, 
looking somewhat puzzled at my manner of treat- 
ing the subject. 

I then unfolded the secret of my having been one 
of the crew captured in the Macedonian. They 
seemed amazed at the risks I had encountered 
since the capture of the Syren, and congratulated 
me very warmly on my really hair-breadth escape 
from the halter. It was a fortunate escape in- 
deed, for which I can never be sufficiently thank- 
ful to that All-seeing Eye, that watched for my 
safety in the moment of peril. 

During this voyage, a great deal was said 
about quitting the seas and settling down in qui- 
etness ashore. One of our shipmates, named 
William Carpenter, who belonged to Rhode Island, 
had a particular enthusiasm in favor of farming. 
He promised to take me with him, where I could 
learn the art of cultivating the soil. Many of us 
made strong resolutions to embark in some such 
enterprise. The pleasures of agriculture were 
sung and praised among us in so ardent a man- 
ner, that he must have been incredulous indeed, 
who could have doubted, for a moment, the cer- 
tainty of quite a number of our hands becoming 
farmers, whenever we should gain the land. 

One night we lay in our hammocks, talking 
with great earnestness about our favorite theme, 
the wind blowing quite freshly on deck. Said 



226 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

one, " If I ever get home, you won't catch me on 
board of a ship again." " Yes," said another ; 
" farmers live well, at any rate. They are not 
put on allowance, but have enough to eat : if they 
work hard all day, they can turn in at night ; and 
if it blows hard, the house won't rock much, and 
there 's no sails to reef." While this and similar 
conversation was going on, the wind was blowing 
harder and harder : from occasional heavy puffs, 
it at last grew to be a tremendous gale. Hearing 
so much wind, though there were hands enough 
on deck to manage the ship, some of us got up to 
assist if we were needed. It was now blowing 
most fearfully; the wild howling and whistling 
among the rigging, the wilder roar of the angry 
sea, the hallooing of the captain, and the impene- 
trable darkness which lent its horrors to the scene, 
were appalling even to a sailor's breast. Just as 
I stepped upon deck she shipped a heavy sea, 
which drenched me to the skin. Presently, we 
heard the crash of falling timbers, and away went 
a top-mast, and a yard in the slings. There were 
now so many men on deck that we were in each 
other's way ; some of us went below and turned 
in, with the full expectation that our ship would 
founder before morning ; and thinking it would be 
as well to go down in our hammocks as on deck. 

While this state of gloomy foreboding contin- 
ued, some of my shipmates manifested great 
alarm about eternity. They prayed aloud, in 
deep distress. Others only cursed, and said, as if 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 227 

in bravado, " We are all going to hell together." 
For my own part, I kept repeating the Lord's 
prayer, and renewing those promises so often 
made in the moment of apparent destruction. 

At length the day dawned, revealing the sad 
havoc made by the wind, of our masts and rig- 
ging. We also saw a number of those dwellers 
on the ocean, called Mother Carey's chickens. 
Our shattered aspect reminded me of the Macedo- 
nian after the battle, excepting that we had no 
wounded and dead about us now. Captain Jones, 
who had not left the deck a moment during the 
night, declared that, though he had been twenty- 
five years at sea, he had never witnessed such a 
gale before. Our ship was nearly new, and an 
excellent sea-boat, or she would have shared the 
fate of many a ship in that terrible gale. As the 
wind abated with the approach of day, we re- 
paired our damages and proceeded on our voyage, 
frequently passing vessels which had suffered as 
severely as ourselves. This gale was on the 9th 
and 10th days of August, 1815. Probably many, 
both sailors and landsmen, will recollect this and 
the September gale of that year, which occasioned 
such destruction of life and shipping. 

Sailors are superstitious. Our men attributed 
this mishap to the presence of some Jonah in the 
ship. The man they pitched upon, as the proba- 
ble offender, was an old sea-captain, who had been 
cast away several times. That he had done some 
fearful deed, was a matter of undoubted truth 



228 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

among them; but not being so resolute as the 
mariners of Tarshish, they did not cast him into 
the sea ; neither did this liberality on their part 
cost us our lives, for, after several days of pleasant 
weather, we one morning found ourselves safely 
anchored at the quarantine ground, near the city 
of New York. 

The crew of the Syren having obtained leave 
to go on shore, full of my good purposes to lead 
a steady life on the land, I hurried directly to 
Broadway, to inquire for my former employer, the 
kind-hearted boot-maker. To my disappointment, 
he had gone to Philadelphia ; so that I returned 
on board, somewhat chagrined at the failure of my 
plan. 

The next morning we were conveyed, in a large 
sail-boat, on board the Tom Bowling, an her- 
maphrodite brig. Here I was congratulated by 
the old quartermaster, Lewis Deal, who was with 
me when we narrowly escaped capture at the 
mouth of Salem harbor, while on a fishing excur- 
sion. He said he had felt much anxiety for my 
safety all the voyage, especially as it was reported 
that my former captain had made strict search for 
the Macedonians among all the American prison- 
ers who were carried to England. The kind- 
hearted old man wept tears of gladness at my safe 
return. 

While we staid in the Tom Bowling, the Sep- 
tember gale, mentioned above, took place. We 
were right glad, as it broke its fury over our an- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 229 

chorage in vain, to think we were so safely housed 
in a good harbor, instead of being exposed to its 
wrath on the deep. Many a brave heart perished 
in that memorable storm. 

The two years having expired for which we 
shipped, we were paid on". With the sum of one 
hundred dollars, I hurried on shore and deposited 
my funds in the hands of my landlord, at a sailor's 
boarding-house. Now followed a life of dissipa- 
tion and folly. The grave resolutions, passed at 
sea, to settle down as steady farmers, vanished 
into air. Drinking, swearing, gambling, going to 
the theatre, and other kindred vices, took up all our 
time as long as our money lasted. Our religious 
vows were equally slighted and forgotten : instead 
of being better, we became worse than ever. We 
felt as if New York belonged to us, and that we 
were really the happiest, j oiliest fellows in the 
world. 

For my own part, I fell deeper into wickedness 
than ever before : drinking, swearing, and gam- 
bling as I had never done on any former occasion. 
How could it be otherwise ? Who cared for the 
sailor then ? Not one. He was left to his own de- 
praved heart's promptings. Bethels and religious 
boarding-houses did not then throw their genial 
influences round his path, to charm his footsteps to 
the shrines of virtue and religion. Near the very 
spot where the bethel church now stands in New 
York, I have frequently gambled for hours, with a 
bottle of spirits on the table, uncaring and uncared 
20 



230 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

for by any human being. Thrice blessed be the 
man who first established bethels and temperance 
boarding-houses ! They are the sailor's life-boats, 
which snatch him from the gory jaws of the un- 
principled landsharks who fatten on his ruin. 

Sometimes, in a sober moment, I thought I 
would break away from this wicked mode of life. 
I even engaged myself to a boot-maker, to com- 
plete my knowledge of his business ; but the dread 
of the confinement to the shoe-bench, which my 
riotous fancy painted as being worse than a prison, 
drove me from my purpose, and left me still among 
my shipmates. 

At last my landlord told me my money was 
all expended, and that I must look out for some- 
thing to do. My shipmates were in a similar di- 
lemma, their number decreasing every day, as one 
after another shipped in the various merchant ves- 
sels preparing for sea. Alas ! for our farmers in 
perspective ! Their dreams of ploughing the land 
evaporated, leaving them what they were before, 
and what most of them remained until death, the 
ploughmen of the ocean. My landlord's gentle hint 
put a stop to my excesses, for the very sufficient 
reason that it was attended with a protest on my 
further checks for funds. For a while, I found 
employment in loading and unloading ships, and 
in assisting to fit them for sea. But this proving 
an uncertain employment, I was induced to join a 
number of my fellow-boarders in going to the ren- 
dezvous of the United States brio: Boxer. Here 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 231 

we shipped for two years more. I was then 
eighteen years of age, and was rated as an or- 
dinary seaman, with ten dollars per month wages. 
Behold me then, dear reader, once more on board 
a man of war, in spite of all the dangers I had 
escaped, and the promises I had made to risk 
myself no more on the ocean ! The next chapter 
will unfold the events which transpired while I 
sailed in the Boxer. 



CHAPTER XL 

•Landsliarks — Purser's tricks — The Boxer — Desertions — -A 
man killed — Captain Porter — Hardships — A blow on 
the head — Sailing orders — The sailing-master — Tyran- 
nical officers — Flogging by the officers — Arrival at Ship 
Island — Getting water — Moschetos and gallinippers — ■ 
Passage to New Orleans — A man brutally flogged — A 
passionate blow — The Boxer hauled up — Desertions — 
Flogging — Return to Ship Island — Work on Captain 
Porter's land — A murder — Passage to Tampico — Turtle 
— Privateers — An attack — The privateer hauls off— 
The Boxer cruises to various ports — The unlucky hand- 
spike—Danger to seamen on the look-out — Sea-sick- 
ness — More running away — My own feelings — Capture 
of the Comet, a privateer — Tom Smith, his philosophy 
and punishment — Character of our crew — Need of 
Christian labor among seamen — A plan suggested. 

On shipping in the Boxer, I received three 
months' advance, which, excepting a small sum 
expended for clothing, fell into the hands of my 
rapacious landlord. How much this gentleman 
contrived to filch from me, it is not in my power 
to say; but that he was well paid, I have no 
doubt. He had my hundred dollars, my advance, 
all I earned for working on the wharves, and nine 
dollars beside, which I obtained from the purser. 
All this, according to his account, I spent in a 
few weeks, with the exception of a very small 
sum laid out for clothing. As I had no means 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 233 

of proving his statements false, there was no 
alternative but submission, and a return to a life 
of toil and danger, to earn a fresh supply. 

As the method by which I obtained the nine 
dollars, above mentioned, from the purser, will 
exhibit one of the modes in which seamen are 
sometimes cheated, I will relate it. While in 
the Syren I drew but half my allowance of grog. 
By the rules of the service, I could claim the bal- 
ance in money. This I overlooked when we 
were paid off, but, when my funds got low, it 
came into my mind. I proposed to some of the 
boys, who had a similar claim, to visit the purser. 
They only laughed at me, and said it would be 
of no use, for he would not pay it now we were 
discharged. Finding they would not join me, I 
went alone to the City Hotel, where the purser 
boarded, and inquired for him of the bar-tender. 
He came down stairs, and I spread out my com- 
plaint before him. He blustered and said I had 
no such claim allowed ; I insisted, and told him 
it was my right, and he must pay it. Hoping to 
get rid of me, he told me to call again the next 
day. This I did, when he paid me nine dollars. 
This will show the reader one of the ways in 
which poor Jack is plundered, and that too by 

GENTLEMEN ! 

The Boxer lay at the navy yard, whither we 

were conducted. The vacillation of a seaman's 

character was illustrated before we got on board, 

by one of our hands running away : another 

20* 



234 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

went a little beyond the first. He went on board, 
where he pretended to lose his hat overboard. 
Begging permission to recover it, he seized the 
rope which fastened the boat to the shore, dropped 
over the stern into the boat, and pushing up to the 
wharf, leaped ashore and made off. Such fickle- 
mindedness is not uncommon among sailors. 

We lost another of our crew in a more melan- 
choly manner ; he was in my mess, an English- 
man by birth, who had just left a British vessel 
to enter the American service. He was at work 
on the main yard, and by some means or other, 
losing his foothold, he fell. Unfortunately, he 
struck a carronade screw in his descent, which 
inflicted a terrible wound. The poor man suf- 
fered excruciating agonies for a short time, and 
died. We buried him on shore, in a plain coffin, 
without form or ceremony. Such are the con- 
tingencies which wait to hurry seamen to the 
grave! 

We were kept busily at work upon the brig for 
some time; after which our commander, Captain 
Porter, came on board. We soon found him to 
belong rather to the race of Fitzroys and Cardens, 
than to that of Decaturs, Parkers or Nicholsons. 
He was inclined to tyranny and severe disci- 
pline. 

He soon gave us a specimen of his character in 
a most illegal act of punishment. We lay along- 
side the Hornet or Peacock, I forget which. It 
happened that her captain and most of her officers 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 235 

were gone ashore one day. Our captain acci- 
dentally saw one of her men engaged in some act 
of misconduct : instead of entering a complaint 
against the man to his own officers, he ordered 
him to be seized up and severely flogged, notwith- 
standing the earnest entreaties of the offender for 
pardon. Why the captain of that vessel did not 
call Captain Porter to an account for this manifest 
invasion of his prerogatives, I never knew, for we 
put to sea shortly afterwards. An officer who 
would thus gratuitously volunteer his services to 
punish a man, must be a tyrant at heart. So at 
least we thought; while many misgivings, con- 
cerning the future, troubled our minds. 

As I was now rated an ordinary seaman, and 
not a boy, as heretofore, I had a station assigned 
me in the fore-top, instead of being a servant to 
any of the officers. I was also appointed to be 
one of the crew of the captain's gig. This made 
my lot one of more fatigue and exposure than in 
any former voyage ; a proof of which, I very soon 
experienced. It being now late in the fall, the 
weather became very cold. One afternoon, the 
pennant having got foul of the royal mast, an 
officer ordered me to go up and clear it. I had 
no mittens on ; it took me some time to perform 
my task, and before I came down one of my fin- 
gers was frozen. Thus it is, however, with the 
poor tar ; and he thinks himself happy to escape 
his dangers with injuries so slight as this. 

The disposition of our commanding officer was 



236 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

still further revealed to my discomfort one day, 
while we were at work on the cables. Some- 
thing I did, not happening to suit him, he gave 
me a severe blow on the head with his fist, not 
far from the place where I had been previously 
injured by the malice of the Malay boy. This 
unmanly blow occasioned me violent pains for 
several days. 

Since that time, I have felt a peculiar hostility 
to a practice, which is lamentably common in 
some schools and families ; I mean that of rap- 
ping children on the head with a thimble, or with 
the knuckles, or anything else. The practice is 
the result of irrational passion, it is dangerous, and 
cannot therefore be too severely reprobated. If it 
is pleaded as necessary to enforce obedience and 
ensure respect, I know it will fail of such effects ; 
it will only excite feelings of revenge, ill-will and 
malice. 

We now received sailing orders, and were very 
soon under weigh, bound to the Balize at the 
mouth of the Mississippi. On this passage we 
had further opportunities of learning the character 
of our officers. Although Captain Porter was 
stern and severe, yet he never used bad language. 
He always spoke with the utmost deliberation, 
but with such obvious indications of feeling, that 
we often trembled to hear his voice. Most of the 
other officers were by no means novitiates in the 
art of swearing ; but our sailing-master exceeded 
all the rest in this diabolical habit. Whenever it 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 237 

was his watch on deck, lie exercised his voice, and 
practised the use of his choice and varied vocabu- 
lary of oaths, by hallooing and threatening the 
men continually. Whenever we had to set on 
sail, or to reef, he was especially diligent in these 
matters ; mingling with his curses, threats of the 
lash to those who were tardy, or whose move- 
ments did not exactly suit his taste. If such offi- 
cers could only apprehend the profound contempt 
and bitter hatred with which they are regarded by 
their maddened crew, they would both tremble for 
their safety, and despise their own littleness of 
soul. No really great man would enact the child- 
ish vagaries of a petty tyrant. 

There was one respect in which we were more 
annoyed in the Boxer than I had been in the 
Macedonian. In this latter ship, none but the 
captain could order a man to be flogged ; in the 
Boxer, the lieutenant or the officer of the watch 
could send a man to the gangway, and order the 
boatswain to lay on with a rope's-end. This is a 
liberty which the laws of the navy should prohibit. 
A man should be secured the rights of a citizen, 
as well on the planks as on the soil of his country. 
True, it may be said, severity of discipline is 
necessary to good order in a ship. Not severity, 
but strictness, is what is wanted. Let a strict dis- 
cipline be enforced, with pleasant looks, and a 
11 Hurrah my lads, bear a hand ! " and obedience 
will be more prompt and more perfect than when 
every order is accompanied with a " Damn you," 



238 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

and with an exhibition of the rope's-end or cat-o'- 
nine-tails. Common sense, as well as experience, 
will sustain this opinion. 

While these matters were passing on board, 
our little brig was dashing through the waves in 
fine style. We arrived at the Balize, from whence 
we dropped down to Ship Island, where we took 
in water. A share of this severe task fell to my 
lot, for I was here taken out of the gig, and placed 
in the jolly-boat, to make way for a smaller and 
lighter lad in the former. We obtained our 
water by digging large holes in the sand, into 
which we placed our casks ; the salt water, by 
passing through so much sand, would be so 
thoroughly filtrated, that by the time it reached 
our casks it was fit for use. We then emptied it 
into ten-gallon kegs, called breakers, which we 
carried on our shoulders to the boat. This of 
itself was hard work, but we had certain torment- 
ors on this island, which made it a task of much 
suffering. These were hosts of hungry, gigantic 
moschetos, which assailed our persons, and es- 
pecially our naked feet, in flying squadrons, with 
a ferocity that indicated an uncontrollable thirst 
for blood. But even these were not our worst 
persecutors. They were attended by armies of 
large, yellow horse-flies, which our men called 
gallinippers. These merciless insect savages 
were always sure to attack the very spot we had 
rubbed sore, after the bite of a moscheto. Their 
bite felt like the thrust of a small sword ; I still 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 239 

retain scars on my feet occasioned by these fierce 
gallinippers. 

This island bore marks of the battle of Orleans ; 
for we found various articles bearing the broad 
arrow and stamped G. R. We also remarked 
several mounds, which had the appearance of 
being large graves. We afterwards learned that 
this was the place where the British brought their 
dead, after their unsuccessful attack on the city of 
New Orleans. 

From Ship Island, we proceeded to New Or- 
leans. This was a laborious passage ; the cur- 
rent ran down the river with amazing force, bear- 
ing huge logs on its bosom, which, if suffered to 
strike either our bows or cables, were capable of 
doing much damage : to avoid them required no 
trifling exertions. Sometimes we endeavored to 
truck her, or draw her along with ropes, as canal- 
boats are drawn by horses. But, as this brought 
us into shallow water, it was abandoned. 

The banks of the river displayed large numbers 
of alligators, luxuriating on the numerous logs 
that were fast in the mud. We made many 
attempts to get near enough to these scaly mon- 
sters to pierce them with a boat-hook ; but they 
kept too sharp a look-out for us ; invariably diving 
into the stream before our boat got near enough 
for us to strike them. But, if we failed in captur- 
ing alligators, we obtained an abundance of palm- 
leaf, from the shore, with which we furnished 
ourselves with hats. 



240 A VOICE FROM THE MAItf DECK. 

An instance of our commander's tyranny occur- 
red while we were ascending- the river. He had 
requested a seaman, named Daily, who was some- 
what acquainted with the river, to act as pilot. 
By accident or negligence, he suffered the brig - to 
strike the bottom, though without the least injury. 
The captain flew into a passion, ordered him to 
the gangway, and commanded the boatswain's 
mate to lay on with his rope's-end. I did not 
witness this flogging, for the hands were not 
called up to witness punishment, unless adminis- 
tered by the cat-o'-nine-tails, but one of my mess- 
mates said that he received at least one hundred 
lashes. I saw him several days afterwards, with 
his back looking as if it had been roasted, and he 
unable to stand upright. He wore the same shirt 
in which he was flogged for some time afterwards. 
It was torn to rags, and showed the state of his 
back beneath. His object in wearing it was to 
mortify and shame the captain for his brutality. 

The severity of flogging with the rope's-end is 
justly described in Mr. Dana's excellent book, 
called " Two Years before the Mast." Though 
not so cruel as the cat, it is nevertheless a harsh, 
degrading punishment. Our men used to say that 
" they would as lief be cut up on the bare back 
with the cat, as have back and shirt cut up 
together, as was poor Daily's. In truth, that flog- 
ging was both unjust and illegal. The articles 
of war provide, that not more than twelve lashes 
shall be given for a crime j but here one hundred 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 241 

were inflicted for no crime — for an accident, which 
might have happened to the best pilot who ever 
ascended the Mississippi. But though the captain 
was thus rendered amenable to the law, who 
would believe a poor sailor ? Had he complained, 
it would doubtless have been to his own injury ; 
for law, and especially naval law, is always on 
the side of the strong. This was not the only 
case of illegal flogging ; but the justification of 
these excessive whippings, was found in the pre- 
tended existence of several crimes in the helpless 
offenders. 

On one occasion we were at our quarters, exer- 
cising in the various evolutions of war ; now at 
our guns, and then going through the forms of 
boarding an enemy ; now running aloft, as if in 
the act of cutting down our enemy's rigging, and 
then rushing below, as if to board her, firing our 
pistols, stabbing with our boarding-pikes, and cut- 
ting on all sides with our cutlasses. In the midst 
of this excitement, the movements of one of the 
men not happening to please the captain, he seized 

cutlass and struck him a tremendous blow with 
its flat side ; heated with passion, he let it glance 
as he struck, and the edge, entering the man's 
back, made a deep flesh wound, which w T as very 
sore a long time. Some of our men swore that if 
they had been the sufferer, they would have shot 
the captain dead on the spot ! Are men of such 
brutal tempers fit to command a man of war ? Is 
it not wonderful that mutiny is so rare under such 
21 



242 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

a discipline ? Such an officer might do to com- 
mand a crew of pirates, but not of freemen, such 
as Americans feel proud to entrust with the keep- 
ing of their national honor on the deep. 

On reaching New Orleans, our ship was over- 
hauled and repaired. We were sent on board the 
Louisiana, an old guard-ship, but had to cross the 
river every morning to assist in working on the 
brig. Several of our men, and myself among 
them, were quite sick here, owing to the free use 
of river water. The Louisiana had a number of 
men confined on board, for some crime ; they 
wore chains round their legs, which were fastened 
to a large ball : the nature of their offence I did 
not ascertain. 

The effects of Captain Porter's severity were 
seen here in the loss of two of the crew. They 
belonged to the gig, and ran away while he was 
on shore. He made a strict, but unsuccessful, 
search after them. To deter others from a like 
attempt, or because he wanted an object on which 
to wreak his vengeance, he gave one poor fellow 
a cruel flogging for what, in sober fact, was no 
offence at all. The man was on shore, with some 
others, fixing the rigging, and, for some purpose 
or other, had walked a short distance from the 
rest, without the slightest intention to run away. 
But the captain wanted a victim, and this served 
for an excuse. 

Our brig being finished, we returned on board, 
and were soon back at our old station off Ship 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 243 

Island, where we found several other small naval 
craft. While here I saw a man flogged through 
the fleet, or, as this might more properly be called, 
the squadron. His was the only instance of the 
kind I saw while in the American navy, and, 
although his hack was most brutally mangled, 
yet I do not think he suffered equal to those who 
are flogged through an English fleet. Still, the 
indignity and brutality are the same in kind, 
though differing in degree : a man should never 
be made to endure it. 

Not far from our station, at a place called St. 
Lewis' Bay, our captain purchased some land, and 
actually sent some of our men to make a clear- 
ing upon it, and to erect a log house. Whether 
this was a legal employment of the strength and 
skill of his men or not, I cannot decide ; but it 
struck me as being a perversion of the national 
resources to his own private benefit. Why should 
a captain of a ship of war be permitted to employ 
the time and energies of his men for private uses, 
while an officer of the government, who should 
employ its funds for his own advantage, would be 
charged with embezzlement and fraud ? The cases 
are precisely alike, except that one uses the public 
money, the other what costs that money. It is a 
fraud on the country, and an imposition on the 
men. 

A tragic event occurred at Lewis' Bay on the 
4th of July, which occasioned a fearful sensation 
throughout the ship. I was sent thither that day 



244 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

in the launch. Feeling fatigued, I remained with 
another in the boat, which was anchored near the 
shore. After some time one of the crew, named 
Thomas Hill, came back for a pistol, for there 
were several in the boat, and deliberately charged 
it. My companion, an old Macedonian, named 
Cox, asked him what he wanted with a pistol. 
Hill, who was a very desperate fellow, told him 
to mind his own business, or he would shoot him. 
Cox, knowing his character, thought it best to let 
this insult pass, supposing he was only going off 
to shoot a dog or snake, as the latter creature 
abounded there. Having loaded his pistol, Hill 
went off, and we thought no more of the matter. 
Presently a man came running down to the boat 
to inform us that two of our men were quarrelling. 
Just at that moment, we heard the report of a pis- 
tol : hurrying to the spot, described by our inform- 
ant, we found a shipmate, by the name of Smith, 
bleeding on the ground, with a pistol-shot lodged 
in his breast by Hill. We gathered round him ; 
in his agony he begged us to shoot him dead, for 
his suffering was not to be endured. Supposing 
he was dying, our testimony to his statement that 
Hill was his murderer, was taken on the spot. 
The victim was then removed to a suitable place 
to be taken care of; the next day he was carried 
on board the brig, and from thence to a sort of 
hospital on shore, where, after lingering a few 
days, he died. The murderer was seized and 
placed in irons on board the brig. He was after- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 245 

wards removed to another ship, but what was 
done with him I never heard with certainty ; it 
was reported that he was pardoned. 

The cause of this fatal affray was that great 
instigator of crimes, Rum. The men were both 
under its influence ; fired with its fumes, they lost 
all discretion, and commenced a quarrel : from 
words they proceeded to blows. In this struggle 
Smith had the advantage. Finding himself 
worsted, the other ran down to the boat for a 
pistol. With this, he returned and threatened to 
shoot his adversary. Smith demanded a pistol 
for himself, that, as he said, he might have fair 
play. At that instant his cowardly opponent shot 
him ! Had they both been sober, this tragedy 
would never have been enacted. Who can reveal 
the effects of alcohol ? 

From this station we sailed to Tampico, where 
we lay but a short time, meeting with nothing 
worthy of remark, except that we found abundance 
of turtle in the river ; during the day we could 
see their heads peeping up from the river in all 
directions. At night we used to send our men 
ashore to take them. This was done by tracking 
them on the sand, whither they went to deposit 
their eggs. We used to turn them over on to 
their backs, and drag them down to the boat. 
When alongside they were hoisted on board with 
a tackle ; some of them weighing four or five 
hundred weight. They were then killed, and 
converted into a soup for the whole ship's com- 
pany. 21* 



246 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

The day after we left Tampico on our passage 
to Vera Cruz, I was looking out on the cat-head or 
starboard bow; seeing a sail, I shouted, " Sail ho ! " 
when three other vessels hove in sight. These 
were all patriot privateers, so we were ordered to 
our quarters ; but the vessels, discovering our 
character, kept clear of our guns, and we pursued 
our own course. 

About ten o'clock, A. M., we saw two more of 
these privateers, crowded with men, but mounting 
only one long gun. Mistaking us for a Spanish 
brig, with money on board, they fired most lustily 
for us to heave to. We mounted short carron- 
ades, excepting two long nines at the bows, so we 
bore down, all hands being at their quarters, to 
bring our short guns to bear upon them. Mean- 
while we kept one of the long nines in full blast. 
I was stationed at this gun ; and it being my duty 
to sponge and load, I had to exert every muscle 
and strain every nerve, as, firing only one gun, it 
was necessary to discharge it as often as pos- 
sible. Before, however, we came near enough to 
injure them, they discovered what we were, fired 
a leeward gun in token of friendship, and hauled 
off. If they had not, our men very elegantly 
observed, they would have found they had taken 
the wrong pig by the ear. 

We soon came in sight of the beautiful revolv- 
ing light, which throws its friendly beams on 
the port of Vera Cruz, where, as in the former 
places, we lay a short time, and then, after visit- 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 247 

ing some other ports, we returned to our former 
station at Ship Island. Here, however, we re- 
mained for only a brief period, before we were 
under weigh for New Orleans, from which place 
we sailed to Havana. Such is the constant 
change kept up by men of war on a cruise. 

On this passage, I was placed in a position 
which exposed me to the punishment of the lash, 
though by a mere accident I escaped. There was 
a habit indulged in among us, which is common 
among all sailors at sea ; I mean that of stealing 
a nap during our watch at night. Seated on the 
carriage of a gun, or on a shot-locker, with folded 
arms, we indulged in many a minute of sweet 
sleep, notwithstanding it was contrary to the rules 
of the ship. To prevent this as much as possi- 
ble, the officer of the watch used to give the first 
man he caught napping, a handspike, with which 
he was compelled to walk the deck until he found 
another sleeper, to whom he was allowed to trans- 
fer his burden. One night I was caught dozing, 
and had to perform the consequent march with 
the handspike. After walking about, without 
success, in search of a sleeper, for some time, I 
thought it might be well to try my fortune in the 
tops. Scarcely had I set foot on the top, before 
the officer below cried, " Fore-top, there ! " 

"Sir?" 

" Aloft, and take in the fore-top-gallant sail ! " 

This order caused every man to spring to his 
station, Supposing no one would pass before the 



248 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

mast, I stood my handspike upright against it. 
But there happened to be a man, by the name of 
Knight, dozing there ; and when he was aroused 
by the command of the officer, he passed before 
the mast to get on to the starboard side. As sai- 
lors usually grasp something when aloft, he missed 
his hold of what he intended to catch, and seized 
my handspike, which of course fell. To my con- 
sternation, he fell with it. Tumbling out of the 
fore-top, he fortunately struck the foot-rope of the 
fore-yard, which broke the force of his fall. When 
he reached the deck, he came bouncing on a tall, 
stout Irishman, named Tom Smith, who, not 
imagining the cause of so rough and sudden an 
assault, roared out, as they both fell together on 
the deck, " Och ! indeed you have killed me ! " 
Here, however, he was mistaken; he was more 
frightened than hurt ; and the innocent cause of 
his fright was able to resume his duties, after 
two or three days' respite. Very fortunately for 
my back, the unlucky handspike was not sus- 
pected ; and my share in this serio-comic accident 
remained a secret within my own breast. 

It has often been a subject of surprise to my 
mind, that men so seldom fall from the tops, in 
the long night-watches they keep there. Often 
have I stood two hours, and, sometimes, when my 
shipmates have forgotten to relieve me, four long, 
tedious hours, on the royal yard, or the top-gallant 
yard, without a man to converse with. Here, 
overcome with fatigue and want of sleep, I have 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 249 

fallen into a dreamy, dozy state, from which I was 
roused by a lee lurch of the ship. Starting up, 
my hair has stood on end with amazement at the 
danger I had so narrowly escaped. But, notwith- 
standing this sudden fright, a few minutes had 
scarcely elapsed before I would be nodding again. 
How wonderful that more are not swallowed in 
the hungry deep ! 

When the weather was rough, we were in- 
dulged with permission to stand on the fore-top- 
sail yard, or on the top-gallant cross-trees ; and, 
if the ship rolled heavily, we lashed ourselves to 
the mast, for greater safety. I can assure my 
readers, there is nothing desirable in this part of 
a sailor's duty. In whatever the pleasure of a 
life at sea consists, it is not in keeping a look-out 
from the mast-head at night. 

But the most disagreeable of all is, to be com- 
pelled to stand* on these crazy elevations, when 
half dead with sea-sickness. Some suppose that 
sailors are never sea-sick after the first time they 
go to sea. This is a mistake ; it is very much 
with them as it is with landsmen, in respect to 
being sick in a coach. Those who are of bilious 
temperaments, are always affected, more or less, 
when they ride in a stage or sleigh ; while others 
are never sick on these occasions. So with sea- 
men ; some are never sea-sick, others are sick only 
when going out of port, while some are so in 
every gale of wind. Mr. Dana mentions some 
of the crew in his ship, who were sick, after being 



250 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

at sea two years, as they came to Boston. I was 
usually sick after laying some time in port, and 
have often stood at the mast-head when so sick 
that any landsman on shore, in a similar state, 
would think it hard if he could not lie abed. For 
a sailor, there is no allowance made for sea-sick- 
ness ; he must remain at his post until it is time 
to be relieved. 

When we entered Havana, we came to anchor 
near the Spanish fort, and fired a salute, which 
was courteously returned by the Spaniards. "We 
had been here but a short time, before an Irish- 
man, named Dougherty, who had formerly de- 
serted from the Spanish garrison, took it into his 
head to run away from our brig. This he accom- 
plished by the assistance of some Spaniards, to 
whom he made himself known. Several others 
also left us, in this port, among whom was our 
swearing sailing-master; and a great deal was 
said about running away throughout the ship. 
The man who was flogged on suspicion at New 
Orleans, now endeavored to get off in reality. 
He strayed from the boat, but the officer, meeting 
him, endeavored to force him back. He resisted ; 
a struggle ensued ; the officer fell to the ground, 
and the man called to the Spaniards to assist him. 
They left him, however, to fight his own battles ; 
and the officer, having succeeded in getting the 
advantage, presented a pistol to his breast, and 
he surrendered. For this offence, he was flogged 
most fearfully. In the British service, he would 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 251 

have been hung ! It is certain death with them, 
to strike an officer. 

Hearing so much said about running away, 
and feeling almost as unhappy as when in the 
Macedonian, I began to think of it myself. Some- 
times I thought of trying to get into the Spanish 
garrison as a soldier ; at others, of joining some 
of the numerous slavers that lay there, and in 
which our men said a good chance could be had. 
Sad chances, as they now appear, especially the 
latter ; but I was young and ignorant. My feel- 
ings and the advice and opinion of my shipmates 
influenced me more than the dictates of an enlight- 
ened understanding. Resolving to make a trial, 
if opportunity offered, I one day put on an extra 
shirt and drew on a second pair of pantaloons. 
When thus prepared, the officer of the deck hap- 
pened to discover the two waistbands of my trou- 
sers ; he questioned me with a suspicious curios- 
ity. I told him as specious a tale as I could 
invent on the spot ; which was, that I had been 
mending my trousers, and, before they were fin- 
ished, was called to go ashore in the boat, and 
not having time to put them away, had slipped 
them on. Fortunately, a needle and some thread 
which I had about me, confirmed my story and 
saved me from difficulty. It was pretty obvious, 
however, that the officer, though silenced, was not 
satisfied; for I was so closely watched, after that 
day, I gave up the idea of escape as utterly futile 
and hopeless. 



252 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

From Havana we returned to the mouth of the 
Mississippi, where we captured the Comet, a 
patriot schooner, on suspicion that the patriotism 
of her crew had degenerated into something less 
respectable. Harsh as it must have sounded in 
the ears of her officers, we charged them with 
piracy; took possession of the vessel, and brought 
her hands, as prisoners, on board our brig. Her 
master's name was Mitchell; his crew were all 
stout, fierce-looking blacks, having all sorts of 
odd names, such as Monday, Friday, &c. She 
had a rich cargo, and contained large sums of 
money. It was reported that they had attacked 
an island somewhere in the Gulf of Mexico, and 
murdered its governor. We put them in irons, 
with sentries over them, who were charged to cut 
off their heads if they dared to lift them above the 
hatchway. I performed this duty a part of the 
time, parading round the hatch with a drawn cut- 
lass ; but they showed no symptoms of resistance, 
and were sent in their vessel to New Orleans. 
Their fate I never ascertained. 

This adventure cost one of our own crew, an 
Irishman, by the name of Tom Smith, a severe 
flogging. Smith was quite a moral philosopher 
in his way ; though it is to be regretted that his 
philosophy was a little infected with lunacy. Its 
premises were certainly sound, but, unfortunately, 
its conclusions bore but little relation to the parent 
of whom they boasted. He taught that man was 
born to do good; that his chief good was the 



SIX YEARS IN A Main vr VV.irL 253 

promotion of his own interests; and that, per 
consequence, he should help himself to whatever 
lie could lay his hands on, without regard to the 
rights of others. With these views, Tom ear- 
nestly defended the rightfulness of piracy, and 
could he have managed to get on board a pirate 
vessel, or even have contrived to wrest our own 
ship from the hands of her officers, and hoist the 
black flag, he would have cheerfully done so. 
But somehow, although he had made a number 
of disciples among his shipmates, our captain 
paid no manner of respect to his theories ; for, 
when Tom, in consistency with his often declared 
principles, deliberately carried off a large sum of 
money from our capture, to his own quarters, the 
captain, who perceived the theft himself, ordered 
him to the gangway, and administered as many 
hard lashes, as if Tom had had no philosophy 
at all. 

But, although Tom Smith's philosophy did not 
save its unlucky advocate from the unphilosophic 
punishment of the whip, it nevertheless exerted a 
baneful influence on the morals of our crew. 
Many of them were doubtless bad enough when 
they came on board ; but a more complete school 
for the practise of iniquity never existed, than 
that on board our brig. Profanity, blasphemy, 
lying, licentious conversation, and even a system 
of petty stealing, were practised on a large scale. 
Many of the men were ripe for any crime within 
the power of depraved humanity to commit, and 
22 



254 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

I have often thought that even the decks of a pri- 
vateer or a pirate, could not lead one faster and 
deeper into the extremes of wickedness, than did 
the influence of our main deck. 

With what a voice do such pictures of sailor 
immorality, call for exertion on the part of an 
enlightened Christian community, in behalf of 
seamen ? Where is the presence of the meek 
spirit of Christianity more needed, than on the 
decks of our merchant and naval vessels ? Where 
would missionaries and Bibles accomplish more 
than here ? There is no sphere of Christian use- 
fulness so important, so promising as this. Every 
vessel in the navy should have its chaplain. Not 
one of your proud, fun-loving, graceless wine- 
bibbers, but a humble, devoted man, who would 
not think it beneath his dignity to mingle with 
the common sailors, as a pastor among the flock 
of his affections, moulding their rough, but sus- 
ceptible natures into the image of virtue, by the 
force of his pious example, and the influence of 
his effectual prayers. Then, in the merchant ser- 
vice, a species of itinerant missionary might be 
indefinitely useful. He might be sent out by a 
society, pledged for his support ; and, by permis- 
sion of the owners, sail in a ship on her outward 
passage. Arrived at her port, he might sail to 
another place, in a different ship, and then return 
home in a third. In this way, a score of devoted 
men of the right stamp, could exert an unparal- 
leled influence on the character of sailors. Vice, 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 255 

irreligion, profanity, and insubordination, would 
presently nee away before the beautiful purity of 
religion, and our ships, instead of being desig- 
nated as floating hells, would become houses of 
God, arks of holiness, consecrated bethels ! Pray, 
Christian, that this desirable consummation may 
be speedily attained ; and be not satisfied with 
merely praying ; add action to your prayers. ' Stir 
up your church to the claims of seamen ! Give 
your money to assist in supporting sailors' mis- 
sionaries, bethels, and the like. Make it the set- 
tled purpose of your heart, not to rest until you 
behold the sailor elevated to his proper position, 
which is that of a Christian man ! 



CHAPTER XII. 

Homeward passage — Story telling — Their moral effect — 
The author threatened with a flogging — Smuggling — 
Arrival at New York — My discontent — Escape from 
the Boxer — Journey to Hartford — Distress — The hos- 
pitable Presbyterian — Deacon Cook — Woman's kind- 
ness — A fortunate discovery of an old shipmate — A 
situation — The author at work on a farm — Anecdote — 
The funeral — Its moral effects — Seriousness — A pra)*er- 
meeting — Profession of religion — A period of backslid- 
ing — Recovery — A camp-meeting — Father Taylor — 
The parting scene — Author joins the Methodist church 
— The crew of the Macedonian — John Wiskey — Hutch- 
inson — James Day. 

After a short stay at the Balize, we put to sea 
once more, for the purpose, as it was understood, 
of touching at Havana, and then returning to New 
York. This was a cheerful voyage ; the idea of 
a speedy return to America, spread a feeling of 
exquisite delight over the whole crew, and con- 
verted the performance of our duty into a pleas- 
ure. One effect was, to set those hands, who 
were gifted with the talent, so highly prized in a 
man of war, of " spinning yarns," busily at work 
during every spare moment, when a group could 
be gathered to listen. Foremost among these 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 257 

intellectual time-killers was Richard Dickinson, a 
messmate of mine, a good-natured Englishman. 
He called himself the son of Old Dick, by which 
epithet he was usually called. Dick's powers 
were now in great demand, and he exercised them 
to our universal satisfaction, but with how great 
regard for truth I cannot determine. It is proba- 
ble, however, that truth entered very little into 
Dick's productions. He was a sort of off-hand 
novelist ; all he cared for was effect, and where 
truth failed him, fiction generously loaned her ser- 
vices. So bewitching were Dick's stories, that I 
used to long for the hour when we could lay in 
our hammocks and listen. My first salutation, 
when we lay for the last time in the port of Ha- 
vana, was, " Come, Dick, tell us a yarn." 

"What is the use? you will go to sleep," he 
used to reply. 

" No I won't, Dick ; I can listen to your yarns 
all night," was my usual answer. 

Dick would then begin some yarn, which, if not 
so interesting as the thousand-and-one stories in 
the Arabian Knights' Entertainments, was at least 
as true to nature, and, in respect to its humor, 
might be compared to some of the sayings of that 
illustrious personage, Sancho Panza, the renowned 
squire of the immortal Don Quixote ; but, in spite 
of my promises, I usually gave notice of my condi- 
tion after a short time, by performing a concord 
of nasal sounds, vulgarly called snoring, which 
22* 



258 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

would set Dick to swearing, and often put an end 
to his performances for the night. 

I need scarcely say, that these " yarns" were by 
no means favorable in their moral effects on the 
listener. They generally consisted in fictitious 
adventures on the sea and on the shore, plenti- 
fully interlarded in their recital with profane 
oaths and licentious allusions. When seamen 
become elevated, and are properly instructed, 
these filthy stories will be superseded by reading 
good and useful literature, with an abundance of 
which every ship should be supplied by the be- 
nevolence of the Christian public. 

On the passage to Havana, Dick and myself 
fell under the displeasure of the captain. We 
were stationed one night in the fore-top, where 
we were comfortably dozing away the time. The 
captain was on deck. The officer of the watch 
hailed the fore-top. We did not hear him until 
the call was repeated two or three times. For 
this we were ordered below, and told by the cap- 
tain that we should be flogged the next day be- 
fore the whole crew. With this consolatory in- 
formation we returned to our station, without the 
least inclination to sleep again for that watch. 
With a sort of philosophic desperation, I laughed 
and said, " Dick, which would you rather do — 
have your grog stopped awhile, or take a flog- 
ging?" 

Dick was very fond of his grog ,* so he replied, 
" Oh, I had rather they would stop my wind than 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 259 

my grog, and would sooner be flogged by consid- 
erable than lose that." I question, however, 
if he had been left to choose between grog and 
whip at the gangway, whether he would not have 
altered his tone in favor of his grog. Still, his 
answer shows, how strongly sailors are attached 
to their beloved rum. I am happy to know that 
this regard is dying away, and that temperance is 
doing something among sailors. May it go on, 
until cold water is as popular in a man of war, as 
grog was twenty years since. We never heard, 
however, of our offence again. Dick was quite a 
favorite with the officers, and, except a blow in 
the head, given me by the captain, I had never 
been punished. Perhaps these were the reasons 
why we escaped the gangway. 

At Havana we got a large amount of Spanish 
dollars aboard for some merchants in New York. 
These were smuggled from the shore. Our men 
were sent off in the boats, with their pockets and 
bosoms well stuffed with the precious metal ; and 
in this way we soon got it all safely lodged in our 
hold, except that the captain's servant, falling des- 
perately in love with them, furnished himself with 
all he could carry, and ran away from the ship. 

After adding to our freight of dollars a fine sup- 
ply of oranges, lemons, pine apples, &c, we cheer- 
fully weighed anchor and set sail for New York. 
We reached that port after a short and prosperous 
voyage ; meeting with no incident, except that the 
cold weather caused us a little suffering, and ena- 



260 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

bled the purser to add a few dollars to the profits 
of the voyage, by supplying us with a lot of red 
flannel shirts. 

When I was on board the Syren, I was con- 
tented. The officers were kind, the crew were 
peaceful and well-behaved ; but in the Boxer, some 
of the officers were severe, and the crew corrupt, 
and I did not enjoy myself at all. Some said 
that in time of war the men were better treated 
than in time of peace ; but though this may be 
true to a limited extent, yet I think the difference 
in these two brigs was owing more to the charac- 
ter of their respective officers than anything else. 
Be this as it may, my experience in the Boxer had 
completely sickened me of man of war life, and I 
determined, if possible, to get free of it at once and 
forever. 

My station, as one of the crew of the jolly-boat, 
gave me frequent opportunities to accomplish my 
purpose. So, one day, at the solicitation of a ship- 
mate, I resolved to make the attempt. Cruel 
treatment was my excuse ; yet I have sometimes 
been ashamed of my course in this instance ; and 
would heartily advise all boys in the naval service 
to stay their time out. We were successful in 
escaping; and as we had but little money, I there- 
fore proceeded directly from the shore to a pawn 
shop, and there disposed of our pea-jackets, which 
were new, and for which the purser had charged 
us ten dollars apiece. We obtained the pitiful 
sum of six dollars for the two. With this, we 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 261 

started in a hack, which was to carry us outside 
of the city. We then travelled hard all day, 
resting at ninht in a barn, where we suffered 
extremely from the cold. The next day we pur- 
sued our way towards New Haven. The day 
after, we were still on the road. This was the 
Sabbath, and we felt strangely at seeing the good 
people of the village, through which we passed, 
going to meeting. The foot -stoves, that the grave 
matrons bore in their hands, were things I had 
never seen before ; so, to the great merriment of 
my companion, I observed that they were excel- 
lent contrivances to carry their books in to meet- 
ing ! We reached New Haven on Monday even- 
ing, where we put up at a sailor's boarding- 
house for the night. Here my shipmate left me, 
and I proceeded alone to Hartford, begging my 
support by the way, for my money was by this 
time all exhausted. 

At Hartford I tried to ship on board some mer- 
chant vessel. Not succeeding, I strove to find 
some one to take me as an apprentice to instruct 
me in the art of bootmaking, but with no better 
success. These repulses discouraged me. It was 
Christmas day, and the associations connected 
with the day — the merry-makings of my early 
boyhood — were anything but pleasant to me in 
my distress. The bell was tolling for the funeral 
of priest Strong, and it seemed as if the melan- 
choly of the mourners fully accorded with my 
feelings, and was preferable in my mind to the 



262 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

spirit of rejoicing that prevailed among those who 
were keeping merry Christmas in merry mood. 
Perhaps, if they had invited me to partake of their 
cheer, I should have changed my opinion. As it 
was, with only five cents in my pocket, I wan- 
dered lonely and sad through the city. With a 
feeling of despair I stepped into a cellar for 
something to drink. They charged me five cents, 
and left me at once friendless and penniless. At 
the bridge, the toll-keeper demanded a cent. 
I looked at him fiercely, and told him I had 
nothing. He let me pass over toll free. Towards 
night, feeling tired and hungry, I endeavored to 
hire myself. But who would employ an utter 
stranger ? I went to a number of houses, implor- 
ing a lodging for the night. With freezing cold- 
ness, I experienced repulse after repulse, until my 
heart chilled with horror, with the fear of spend- 
ing that long, cold night out of doors. At last I 
called on a kind-hearted Presbyterian, who gave 
me a supper, lodging and breakfast. Their morn- 
ing and evening devotions were peculiarly inter- 
esting to me ; for, excepting while a prisoner at 
the Cape of Good Hope, I had never listened to 
an extemporaneous prayer. 

The next morning I left this truly hospitable 
family, and pursued my inquiries for employment. 
Some asked if I could chop wood; others, if I 
knew anything about farming ; and when I an- 
swered " No," they shook their heads, and I 
trudged on. Sometimes I offered to work for my 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 263 

board, but, being a sailor, and having no recom- 
mendations, people were afraid to take me into 
their families. Still I pushed on. A man over- 
took me in the town of Coventry, and began a very 
interesting and faithful discourse about religion. 
I listened respectfully; he took me home with 
him, where, although he was a deacon, he gave 
me some cider-brandy : but these were not the 
days of temperance. After this he sent me to 
Pomeroy's tavern, where he thought they would 
hire me. This application failing, he advised me 
to apply at the glass works which were a little 
distance from that place. With this advice, I took 
leave of Deacon Cook, and proceeded towards the 
glass houses. 

Before reaching them, however, night came. 
A family, who occupied a red house, received me, 
whose hospitality I returned by singing a number 
of sea songs. Early the next morning, I tried to 
get work at the glass house, but though I was 
willing to stay for my board, they would not take 
me. Mr. Turner, the agent, very kindly gave me 
a breakfast, and then I left him, determined to get 
to Boston if possible, and go to sea once more. 

My situation was really a trying one : my only 
clothing was a blue jacket and trousers ; shoes 
more than half worn out, and a little tarpaulin hat 
stuck on the back of my head, in genuine sailor 
fashion.^ Mittens and money were alike far ofT 

* If the reader wishes to know wli}' seamen wear their 
hats on the back of their heads, let him put his hat on as 



264 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

from my fingers, and friends were as scarce as 
money. People, too, seemed afraid of a sailor; 
and this, in addition to all my other troubles, ren- 
dered me an object of suspicion. At such times, 
I assure my young reader, that the picture of a 
kind mother and a good home, are but too faith- 
fully presented to the mind, filling it with a thou- 
sand vain and useless regrets. No young man 
need desire to be in the outcast prodigal con- 
dition in which I stood, in the depth of that cold 
winter. 

When I reached the town of Mansfield, I called 
at the house of a Mr. Nathaniel Dunham; the 
kind manners and friendly language of whose 
lady I shall never forget. She told me that if I 
was honest, Providence would shortly open some 
way by which I could live. Her words fell on 
my ear like a prophecy, and I left the house, con- 
fident of some favorable turn in my affairs before 
long. At Mansfield four corners, I inquired of 
Dr. Waldo, who, with several others, sat under a 
piazza, and afterwards of a Mr. Edmund Freeman, 
for employ. They gave me no encouragement. 
Persevering, I at last met with a Mr. Peter Cross, 
who, seeing my sailor garb, asked what ships I had 
sailed in. Hearing me mention the Macedonian, 
he said, " There is a man here whose name is 

usual and ascend a ladder. He will find himself unable 
to look up until he places it on the back of his head as a 
sailor does. Sailors wear their hats thus, because they 
could not otherwise ascend the rigging of a ship. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 265 

"William Hutchinson. He was taken in her. Do 
you know him ? " 

" Yes," said I, after a moment's recollection ,* 
" he was our armorer's mate." 

Of course, I lost no time in seeking for my old 
shipmate. After crossing various lots, and getting 
vexed and perplexed for want of proper direction, 
I reached his comfortable homestead. He did not 
recognise me at first, on account of the great alter- 
ation a few years had made in my size and 
appearance; but, when he did recall me to his 
recollection, with the generous frankness of a 
sailor, he offered me all the hospitality and assist- 
ance in his power. A good supper was speedily 
spread; and then, seated before his ample fire- 
place, sparkling and crackling with a cheerful 
blaze, we recounted our adventures. He had 
wandered into Connecticut, and married a very 
respectable woman. They now owned a house 
and some land, and were in tolerably comfortable 
and thriving circumstances. With such discourse, 
we talked away the better part of the night, when 
the old tar showed me my chamber, archly ob- 
serving that " my bed would not rock much." 

The next morning, he said I should not leave 
him until I was provided for in some way or 
other. Through his influence, a Mr. James, his 
brother-in-law, employed me to work in his cloth- 
dressing establishment. As I was ignorant of the 
business, and was not really needed, my board 
was to be my only compensation. 
23 



266 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

My new situation soon grew delightful to me, 
and I felt happier than I had ever done since I 
left Bladen. My time passed very pleasantly, 
especially my evenings, when the neighbors came 
in to hear me spin sea yarns and forecastle songs. 
Some of the young men of the "baser sort" 
judged me to be a fit instrument to act Sampson 
for their enjoyment, in the house of God. So 
they invited me to attend the meetings of the 
Methodist Episcopal church in that place. But 
they greatly misjudged the character of seamen; 
who, as before remarked, usually pay respect to 
the ordinances and ministers of religion. I 
attended the meeting, but not to make sport. 
The result of this ill-designed invitation on my- 
self will appear hereafter. 

The winter months fled, and the spring found 
me unfurnished with means co-extensive with 
my wants. Determined to remain ashore, if 
possible, I hired myself to a farmer for my board. 
In the evenings I braided straw hats, and thus 
obtained a scanty supply of clothing. A little 
incident, illustrative of the thoughtless playfulness 
of sailor character, may not be displeasing to my 
young readers. 

Whoever has seen a perfect novice undertake 
to guide an ox-team, may form some idea of the 
ludicrous adventures through which I passed 
during my agricultural novitiate with these horned 
animals. Perseverance, however, gave me some 
little control over our team, when, as fate would 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 267 

have it, my employer " swapped " them for another 
pair. When they came home, after some little 
hallooing and whipping, I succeeded in " yoking" 
them ; then seizing the goad-stick, with as much 
dignity as ever Neptune wielded his trident, I 
mounted the tongue, (which I called the bowsprit,) 
and with the ladders rigged up at both ends, I 
gave the word of command to my team. They, 
however, showed signs of mutiny, and, taking to 
their heels, bore me off in triumph. This was sport 
indeed ; there I stood, my head and shoulders 
passed between the front rigging, laughing as if 
my sides would burst, while rakes, forks and 
boards were playing leap-frog, at the tail of my 
cart, and my master's boy was half frightened 
oat of his wits. At length the angry voice of my 
master roused me from my sportive mood; he 
did not relish the rough usage his farming tools 
were receiving, and coming up with my horned 
steeds, he speedily stopped their speed and my 
sport. I need only add that his rebukes made 
me more careful afterwards. 

When the haying season commenced, I left my 
first employer, and obtained the sum of eight dol- 
lars per month, and board ; the wages, however, 
in accordance with the true Yankee method of 
making money out of everything, were to be pay- 
able at the village store. This change led me 
into a situation which proved another link In the 
chain, which ended in my conversion to God. The 
son of my employer died ; he was about fourteen 



268 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

years of age ; in company with a pious member 
of the Methodist church, I sat up one night with 
the corpse. With the faithfulness of a true 
Christian, he improved the occasion by seriously 
conversing with me on the great concerns of 
immortality. His discourse, together with the 
funeral services, had a very softening and gracious 
influence on my feelings, though the only present, 
practical effect was a more punctual attendance on 
the services of the sanctuary. 

Towards winter, I went to live with Mr. Joseph 
Conant, to learn the business of filing augers 
and steelyards. Here my acquaintance was con- 
siderably enlarged, as several young men were 
attached to the establishment. Among them was 
one who made a profession of religion. As is 
usual among the young, we were devoted triflers ; 
and he, to my astonishment, was as jocose and 
merry as the rest. Ignorant as I was of religion, 
his conduct appeared strangely inconsistent; I 
wondered he did not converse with me about my 
soul. One day I took him aside and faithfully 
expressed my views of his conduct. He acknowl- 
edged his guilt. Afterwards we attended meetings 
in company, and he was faithful in speaking with 
me about the things that belonged to my salvation. 
He urged upon me the importance of giving my- 
self up to God. at once, and affectionately invited 
me to*attend class-meeting. My mind was seri- 
ously inclined, but I could not yet venture upon 
so close an intercourse with the people of God. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 269 

One Sabbath evening, my friend, Ella Dunham, 
who had dealt so faithfully with me, when we 
watched together over the corpse of Orson Kidder, 
asked me, " When do you intend to set out and 
seek religion ? " 

I replied, somewhat evasively, " Any time." 

" Well," said he, " are you willing we should 
pray for you, and will you go forward for prayers 
to-night ? " 

To this I replied, that I would think of it. The 
meeting proved to be intensely interesting. My 
desire to express the inward workings of my mind, 
grew strong. Of the forms and practices of 
Christians in revivals, I was altogether ignorant, 
having never witnessed a conversion in my life ; 
still, it seemed to me highly proper to declare my 
feelings in the presence of Christians, that they 
might give such instructions as were necessary to 
lead me into the right way. With these views, 
I determined to rise and speak, though the evil 
one whispered, " Not yet ! not yet ! " in my ears. 
Just as I stood up, some one, not seeing me, 
began to sing ; this, I took to be a suitable excuse 
for further delay, and sat down, heartily wishing 
that no one had seen me. Fortunately, my friend 
Dunham had witnessed my movement. He re- 
quested them to stop singing, because a young 
man wished to speak. Thus encouraged, I told 
them I was then nineteen years of age, and it 
seemed to me too much of life to spend in sin ; 
that eternity was a solemn idea, and I desired 
23* 



270 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

them to tell me how to prepare to enter upon it 
with joy. They proposed to pray with me. We 
then all kneeled down together. Most fervently 
did they pray for the divine blessing to rest on 
the stranger youth, bowed in penitence before 
them, and most sincerely did I join my prayers 
with theirs before the throne of God. After 
prayer, they sung the following familiar lines, 
which I insert both for their intrinsic excellence, 
and for the pleasantness of the associations con- 
nected with them in my own mind. 

" Alas, and did my Saviour bleed ! 
And did my Sovereign die ! 
Would he devote that sacred head, , 
For such a worm as I ? 

the Lamb ! the loving Lamb ! 

The Lamb on Calvary, 

The Lamb that was slain, 

Yet lives again. 

To bleed and die for me." 

Although these words were very sweetty ap- 
plied to my mind, I did not feel any evidence of 
the favor of God that night. The next day, with 
a strong purpose to live for eternity, I entered on 
my daily tasks. Religion was the theme of my 
thoughts and discourse ; during the day, a sweet 
calm came over me ; peace and joy filled my soul. 
It was the pardoning love of God applied to my 
guilty spirit. 

Ah ! thought I, this must be religion ; but desir* 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 271 

ing to be right, I went to my employer and com- 
municated my feelings to him. His reply rather 
damped my joy. He was a moralist ; morality, he 
said, was all-sufficient to secure a man's well 
being both in this life and in that to come. This, 
however, did not satisfy my mind. To me it seem- 
ed certain that genuine repentance, and a change 
of heart, were all-essential to my happiness ; and 
these, if not already mine, I determined to possess. 

The remarks and experience of the Methodists, 
at their prayer meetings, were greatly blessed to 
my comfort. Gradually the light broke ; the day- 
star shone. Peace, like a river, filled my breast; 
joy, as from an unfailing fountain, bubbled up 
within me ; love animated my affections ; by day 
and by night I sang the praises of God, and the 
society of Christ's dear people seemed precious 
indeed to my soul. I thought this sweet frame 
would last forever. I determined it should, so 
far as my efforts were necessary for its contin- 
uance. Alas ! I knew not my own heart : a 
dreary wilderness state was before me, and I, like 
many an unwary soul before me, heedlessly stum- 
bled into its gloomy shadows. 

By a sudden change in the condition of my 
employer, I was led to seek employment in Ash- 
ford. Here, in the shop of Mr. Giles Stebbins, I 
was surrounded by many light-minded, trifling 
young men. Falling into the same snare for 
which I had reproved a professor before I was con- 
verted, my peace and calm were lost, every evi- 



272 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

dence darkened, and the wretchedness of a back* 
slider in heart filled my soul. This apostacy lasted 
several months, when, through the love and long- 
suffering of a gracious God, I was once more re- 
stored to a state of salvation. Since that time, 
though I have not gained all that is desirable, and 
that is offered in an abundant gospel, yet I have 
been trying to stem the torrent of iniquity, which 
runs through the earth, and striving to make my 
way to the port of Glory. 

The next fall I walked eighteen miles to a 
camp-meeting in Thompson, Conn., the first I 
had ever attended. Though the scene was novel, 
I soon took a deep interest in the services ; espe- 
cially when informed that a sailor was going to 
preach one evening. This sailor was no other than 
the well-known Rev. E. T. Taylor. His text was 
in Philippians iv. 19 : " But my God shall supply 
all your needs ;" which he handled in his usual 
happy and eccentric, powerful manner. I had 
never before seen a religious sailor ; to hear one 
preach, therefore, in such forcible and effective 
style, was to me a source of unutterable delight. 
Nor were the listening masses before the stand, 
who hung with intense eagerness on his lips, less 
pleased than myself. They broke out into loud ex- 
pressions of praise to God for his wonderful mer- 
cies. " This," said the speaker, " is but a drop 
from a bucket ! What will it be when we drink 
from the mighty ocean itself? " 

At this meeting I saw sinners yielding to Christ 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 273 

with tears of sacred penitence, for the first time in 
my life. Never in all my life had a spectacle more 
sublimely beautiful met my eye. I do not believe 
the world affords a more grateful sight than that 
of a sinner weeping and repenting before his Cre- 
ator. 

The parting scene of that meeting left an indel- 
ible impression on my memory. Even now I see 
that affectionate company marching in regular and 
joyful procession before the stand, each shaking 
hands, as he passed, with the preachers. Still I 
feel the tears chasing each other down my cheeks, 
as I grasped the hand of the sailor preacher so 
firmly, that it seemed I should never let it go ; 
while he, seeing my emotion, observed, " Never 
mind, brother, we are on board of Zion's ship 
now." I had stood tearless alike amidst the wait- 
ings of the tempest and the roar of the battle, but 
here, among a few Christians at a camp-meeting, 
my heart was soft as a woman's, and my tears 
flowed like rain. Does the reader inquire what 
made the difference ? I answer, it was the love 
of God. 

When I returned home, one of my first acts was 
to unite myself with the Methodist Episcopal 
church : an act which has led to the formation of 
many pleasant friendships, and which has proved 
the source of much religious enjoyment to my 
soul. 

My mind often reverts, with a mixture of joy 
and sorrow, to the fate of the three hundred men 



274 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

and boys who sailed with me in the Macedonian, 
when I left England for the first time. Of these, 
alas ! how many perished in battle ! The rest were 
scattered over the four quarters of the globe. Be- 
side myself, I never heard of but one of them who 
embraced religion. This was John Wiskey, 
one of our quarter-masters. He settled in New 
London, and when he met in class, for the first 
time, he said he blessed God he had got out of 
that floating hell, the Macedonian. He after- 
wards removed to Catskill, on the North River, 
where he maintained a good Christian reputation. 

My shipmate, who received me so hospitably in 
Mansfield, became unfortunate, lost his property, 
and died, but not before I had the satisfaction of 
offering a prayer at his bedside. 

The little fellow who escaped from the Macedo- 
nian with me met with a melancholy fate. This 
I learned one day from the following paragraph 
in a newspaper : " Drowned, out of a pilot boat, 
off Charleston Bar, Mr. James Day, one of the 
crew of His Britannic Majesty's late frigate Mace- 
donian." Thus have I been signally favored — a 
brand plucked from the fire. For this special 
favor I hope to render my heavenly Father the 
eternal tribute of a grateful heart. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Home feelings — Correspondence with home — Letter from 
my mother — Fear of apprehension leads me to decline 
going to her — My father-in-law's death — A new business 
— Another change — Rum-selling — Convictions on the 
subject—The temperance lecture — My marriage — 
Rum-selling given up — Removal to Wilbraham — Pros- 
perity — A visit to the Macedonian — An exhortation to 
her crew — Home correspondence — Lord Churchill's 
note — Dr. Fisk's visit to my mother — A mother's 
present — Resolution to visit England — Preparations. 

During the various scenes, dangers and wan- 
derings of these years of my youth, I had not for- 
gotten the home of my boyhood ; and, now that 
I was becoming somewhat settled in my prospects, 
I wrote an affectionate letter to my mother. After 
a delay of several months, I received two letters 
in reply, one from my mother, and the other from 
my sister. That from my mother is inserted in this 
narrative, for the purpose of exhibiting to the young 
reader, who may fancy that his parents feel no very 
great interest in his welfare, another instance of 
the deep, undying love of a mother's heart. 



276 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

Bladen, December 23, 1818. 
My dearly beloved Child : — 

I cannot describe the sensations 1 felt when I 
received a letter from your dear hands. It 
was the greatest pleasure I have enjoyed since 
you left me. I have never been sorry but once 
since you left, and that has been ever since ; but I 
hope the Almighty has ordered it all for the best. I 
have never forgotten to pray for you morning, night, 
and many times in the day, though I talked very 
little about you to any one, because I did not wish 
to make any one else uncomfortable. But that 
God, who knows the secrets of all hearts, sees how 
sincerely thankful I am because he has been 
pleased to hear my prayers that I might hear from 
you again ; for I was fearful I never should. But 
now I have great hopes that the blessed Lord will 
protect you, and spare our lives to see each other 
again. 

My dear child, you have not stated how you 
came to be separated from the crew when the 
ship was taken, nor how you have been employed 
since. You must be the best judge whether it 
will be safe for you to venture home. It would 
be a great pleasure for me to see you, but if there 
is danger of bad consequences, on account of your 
having been in the service against your country, 
and if any bad consequence should follow your 
coming home, it would make me more unhappy 
than I have ever been yet. If there is no danger, 
I should be very happy to have you come home 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 277 

and learn a trade ; as, thank God, I have it in my 
power to do something for you ; and nothing shall 
be wanting to make you comfortable, that I can 
do. You say it may be one or two years before 
you come ; but pray come the first opportunity, 
as you will be gladly received by us all. If it is 
a want of money that prevents you from coming, 
and you cannot work your passage, perhaps you 
can get one by showing the captain of some ship 
my letter, and he may depend on being paid as 
soon as you arrive in England. If neither will 
do, send me word ; and if there is any place in 
London where your passage money can be paid, 
I will pay it there for you. You are right in 
supposing yourself twenty-two years of age on 
the nineteenth of March, (1819.) Your sister 
Maria is twenty. She is grown a fine young 
woman; I am happy to say is very steady and 
thoughtful ; though not of a very strong constitu- 
tion. She is at service in London. She has 
written to you, and I hope you will receive her 
letter with this. 

•JP 9P -Jp tF -a- •?? tP 

I hope, my dear child, you will not fail to come 
home. Send me all the particulars of your life, 
at the first opportunity. I am afraid you have 
gone through a great deal of trouble and hardship 
since I saw you. But the merciful Lord has 
been pleased to bring you through the whole, and 
He is able to carry you through more, if you put 
your trust in Him. It gave me great comfort to 
24 



278 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

hear that you are so well disposed, as I am sure 
you are, from the spirit of your letter; it was 
more pleasure to me than if you had gained all 
the riches in the world. I wish I was as well 
acquainted with religion as yourself; but I will 
try to make a better use of my time, and should 
it please God to let you come home, I hope you 
will be the means of great good to me. 

There are a number of Methodist meetings 
about us. The people who live in our yard are 
very strict ones. I never disliked the Meth- 
odists ; I think they have a great gift of religion. 
I sent your letter to Lady Churchill, formerly 
Lady Francis Spencer. Both Lord and Lady 
Churchill were glad to hear from you, and are 
your well-wishers. The Duke and Dutchess of 
Marlborough are both dead. Blenheim is much 
altered for the worse, since his son has become 
Duke. Lord Francis, that was, makes a very 
good master ; and when the Duke died, he left Blen- 
heim. His country house is in the forest. Your 
father is his carpenter in the timber yard ; he has 
filled this situation six weeks. He comes home 
every Saturday ; and next spring they are going 
to place me and the children in a lodge near him. 
"We hope to have the happiness of seeing you 
there. 

<A£, -&L. AL* -At- Al* O/, .A/, 

•Tr Vf" "TV" TV* "/v- *7V" TP 

It is eight years the twelfth of last July, since 
you left us. * * * Your father, brothers 
and sisters all join with me in hearty prayers to 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 279 

Almighty God, that his blessing may be upon 
you ; and if it is his blessed will, we shall see 
you again ; if it is not, we must be resigned to 
what is fitting for us, and pray that we may all 
meet in heaven, where all tears shall be wiped 
away. That God may bless you, my dear child, 
is the sincere prayer of 

Your ever loving mother. 

Susan Newman. 

Notwithstanding the earnestness of my moth- 
er's spirit, breathed out so ardently for my return 
in this letter, I dared not risk myself on British 
soil. Her expression of sorrow, if bad conse- 
quences should ensue, had its weight in deter- 
mining me to remain ; but a conversation with 
the celebrated Lorenzo Dow, who had recently 
returned from his English tour, settled the ques- 
tion. He said he had seen four men hung, who, 
like me, had been in the service of some other 
country, after deserting from their own. This was 
quite sufficient ; for, much as I longed to visit the 
homes of my childhood, I had no disposition to 
do it with a gallows suspended over my head. I 
therefore wrote my mother, that, not having a 
regular discharge from the navy, it would be best 
for me to continue where I was ; but I begged them 
to seriously think of emigrating themselves ; since 
my father-in-law, being an excellent carpenter, 
could do well in New England. Alas ! it was 
not for him ever to consider of this proposition; 



280 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

for, when my letter arrived, they were performing 
the sad obsequies of death over his breathless 
corpse. A prevailing fever had terminated a life 
of fifty -seven years, after a sickness of two weeks. 
My mother, now a widow the second time, after 
twelve years of pleasant union with her last hus- 
band, thought it unfitting, at her time of life, to 
venture across the ocean; and therefore all my 
plans for collecting my relatives on American soil, 
were blasted in the bud. 

Perhaps, after following me through the changes 
of my life at sea, the reader may feel a little in- 
terest in knowing how I succeeded as a landsman. 
He has seen me escaping the breakers that met 
me on my first approach to the shore ; and now, 
if his patience be not entirely exhausted, he may 
pursue my fortunes a little further. 

He left me, when my episode about home led 
him away from the thread of the narrative, busily 
at work as a filer of steel-yards, at Mansfield, 
Conn. From thence, I returned to Ashford, 
where I continued a year or two. At last, doubt- 
ing the stability of my employer, and fearing lest 
what he owed me might be lost, I took up the 
whole in the shape of a waggon and a stock of 
steel-yards ; then, purchasing a horse, I travelled 
from place to place to sell them; and in this 
manner got into a business which I have followed 
more or less ever since. After acquiring, by 
economy and diligence, a few hundred dollars, 1 
opened a small store in Mansfield, with the in- 
tention of leading a still more settled life ; though 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 281 

about that time my mind was strongly exercised 
with a desire to devote myself to the religious 
benefit of seamen. My sense of unfitness for so 
great a work, at last prevailed ; and I proceeded 
with my plans of worldly business. 

The days of which I write were those on 
which the bright star of temperance had scarcely 
shone. Ministers, deacons, Christians, all used 
the deadly drinks. Was it surprising, therefore, 
that I, but so short a time before a rum-loving 
sailor, fell into the common current, and became 
a rumseller ? No, it was not strange ! but it was 
a strange, a glorious display of restraining grace, 
that prevented me from being drawn into the 
snare I was thus thoughtlessly spreading for the 
poor drunkard. 

But even in those early days of temperance, I 
was not without my trials of mind in respect to 
the unholy traffic. Once, when at Hartford, 
making purchases for my store, of which rum 
formed no inconsiderable article, I accidentally 
heard of a lecture on temperance, to be delivered 
at Dr. Hawes's church. This was the first dis- 
course on the subject I ever heard. The speaker 
excited a deep interest in my mind, as he told of 
the origin of rum, its primary costliness and rank 
among medicines, of the growth of distilleries, the 
consequent decline in its price, and the attending 
spread of drunkenness. So deadly a plot against 
the peace of the world, he said, could only have 
been contrived in hell. 
24* 



282 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

This discourse fell like light on some dark 
opaque; it illuminated my understanding, dis- 
turbed my conscience. No sleep visited my eyes 
that night. Duty said, " Send back your team 
without rum in the morning." Fear of men, pub- 
lic opinion, interest said, " No. Every other 
store-keeper sells it, and so may you." The lat- 
ter argument prevailed. Conscience was rebuked; 
the rum went to my store. 

Shortly after this struggle, I married a member 
of the Methodist church in Hartford. We re- 
moved to Somers, Connecticut, where I continued 
to sell rum, though, as before, with great caution 
and with much inward struggling of mind. At 
last I could hold out no longer, and in spite of the 
example of ministers, (some of whom often drank, 
though sparingly, at my house,) in spite of the 
sneers of the scornful, and of the fear of loss to 
my trade, I gave it up ! It was for the poor, un- 
taught sailor to set the example of sacrifice to the 
store-keepers of Somers. Three others imitated 
me in a short time. Not to me, but to the grace 
of God, be the glory of my decision and resolution. 
I can assure the modern rum-seller, whose lashed 
and tortured soul still cleaves to the rum barrel 
and the toddy stick, for the sake of the profit, that 
I have ever regarded that act as among the best 
of my life. 

Finding my present residence ill adapted to a 
successful prosecution of business, I closed up my 
concerns, and removed to Wilbraham, Mass., the 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 283 

place of my present abode ; a pleasant town, but 
which is rendered more so by the very superior 
opportunities it affords for the education of chil- 
dren, in its most excellent and nourishing acad- 
emy. ; 

Here my life glided pleasantly and quietly 
along, affording no incidents worthy of special 
record. Happiness presided at my domestic 
board, prosperity accompanied my temporal en- 
terprises, and religion reigned as the ruling genius 
over the whole. My ways were committed unto 
the Lord, and he directed my steps ; for which I 
praise him with my whole heart. 

In this delightful manner several years fled 
away ; when, my business having led me, on 
one occasion, to New York, I heard that my old 
ship, the Macedonian, was in port. Animated 
with that regard for an old ship, which always 
inspires a genuine seaman, I went on board. She 
was so altered, I scarcely recognised her. Change, 
with an unsparing hand, had remodeled the decks 
and cabins, so that I felt somewhat lost where 
once every timber was familiar. This was rather 
a disappointment; however, I stood on the spot 
where I had fought in the din of battle ; and with 
many a serious reflection recalled the horrors of 
that dreadful scene. The sailors, on witnessing 
the care with which I examined every thing, and 
supposing me to be a landsman, eyed me rather 
closely. Seeing their curiosity, I said, " Ship- 
mates, I have seen this vessel before to-day : 
probably before any of you ever did." 



284 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

The old tars gathered round me, eagerly listen- 
ing to my tale of the battle, and they bore 
patiently, and with becoming gravity, the exhor- 
tation to lead a religions life, with which I closed 
my address. They appeared to be very suscep- 
tible of religious feeling; as, indeed, sailors are 
generally. Should any doubt this fact, let them 
hear the Rev. Mr. Chase, in New York, or Rev. 
E. T. Taylor, in Boston, in whose usually crowded 
houses of worship, the face of the rough, weather- 
beaten son of the ocean may be seen bedewed 
with penitential tears ; especially at the church 
of the latter gentleman — than whom none know 
better how to adapt discourse to a sailor's soul. 

During the flight of these years a constant cor- 
respondence had been kept up between me and 
my mother. She had constantly urged me to 
revisit my native land. To remove the last 
obstacle, she addressed a letter to Lady Churchill, 
to ascertain if I might safely return. She sent 
her the following note, the original of which is 
still in my possession : 

Lower Brook Street, ) 
Nov. 7, 1821. i 
Mrs. Newman,— 

I consulted my brother William upon the sub- 
ject on which you wished for advice, as neither 
Lord C. nor myself could undertake to answer 
your inquiry ; and I am glad to hear from him the 
following explanation in reply : " There is nothing 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 285 

to prevent Mrs. Newman's son from coming 
home ; for when the war was terminated, he was 
safe, even if he had entered into the enemy's 
service ; but he will of course forfeit the pay and 
any prize money due to him." 

tP tP ^ ^ ?%• 

I am, much yours, 

F. Churchill. 

This note relieved me of all fear, but now it 
had become no small undertaking for me to go to 
Europe. To go alone would be very expensive ; 
but to take my family, consisting now of a wife 
and three children, was much more so. Hence, I 
put it off year after year, still writing and beg- 
ging them to visit me. When the late lamented 
Dr. Fisk was in England, he visited my mother 
and brother, and related to them some of the facts 
in my life, which he had often heard me mention. 
She sent me two silver table spoons, which had 
belonged to my father, by the Doctor's hands. 
My mother wrote about this visit of that " great, 
good man" with evident satisfaction. 

At last, I received a letter from home, which 
decided me to undertake the often postponed and 
long delayed voyage to my native land. This 
letter stated that there was a young man in 
Albany, with whose friends they were all well 
acquainted, and that he was about to visit his 
mother. I found this gentleman, whose name 
was William Warrington, and agreed to join 



286 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

him with my family in his intended voyage. 
This agreement made, we set about making pre- 
parations for the undertaking. If the reader 
desires to know the events of that visit, he must 
consult the ensuing chapter. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Departure from home — A cabin in the George Washington 
— Cheated by the cook — The packet sails — A day's expe- 
rience from my journal— Religious service on Sabbath 
— Arrival at Liverpool — The custom-house, Liverpool 
—Journey to Stafford — The hackmen — Meeting with 
my sister — Election day in Stafford — Stafford — Re- 
mains of a baronial castle — St. Mary's church — The 
poor-house — A good custom — Beggars and poverty — 
Drunkenness — Beer, a hindrance to the temperance 
cause — Departure from Stafford — Arrival at Bladen — 
Meeting with my mother — A happy family party — 
Visit to Oxford — Description of the town — Great Tom — 
Mr. Wesley's room at college — The martyr's stones — 
Departure from Bladen — Arrival at London — Trip to 
Walthamstow and Wanstead — A visit to the city road 
chapel — Tombs of Wesley, Clarke, Benson, Bunyan, 
and Watts — Condition of the English poor — Taxation — 
Expenses of royalty — Departure for Boston — Long 
passage — Safe arrival — Closing remarks to the reader 
— Note — My mother's death. 

Weighed down under a pressure of despon- 
dency, arising partly from temporary illness, and 
partly from the greatness of the enterprise I had 
undertaken, and whose event was so uncertain, I 
left Wilbraham on Thursday morning, June 3d, 
1841. A pleasant passage, by the way of Spring- 
field and Hartford, brought us into New York 



288 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

early the next morning. By the following Mon- 
day, the 7th of June, we were all snugly stowed 
in a state-room of the second cabin on board the 
splendid packet-ship, George Washington, bound 
for Liverpool. 

Before we sailed, however, I was fleeced of 
seven dollars by the cook of the ship. As pas- 
sengers in the second cabin, we had the privilege 
of furnishing ourselves with provisions. For the 
sum just mentioned, the cook had agreed to do 
all our cooking at the galley, insisting, however, 
on being paid in advance, because, he averred, 
several passengers, on former occasions, had ob- 
tained his services and failed to pay him ; besides? 
he wanted to leave all the money he could with 
his wife. These arguments were, of course, un- 
answerable, and I paid him the sum demanded. 
Judge, then, of my surprise, when, a few minutes 
before we hauled off, the captain engaged another 
cook ; the first having suddenly made himself 
among the missing. Should the reader ever have 
occasion to voyage, he may profit by the remem- 
brance of this anecdote. 

We then hauled off into the stream ; towed by 
a steamboat, we soon cleared the harbor of New 
York. Sandy Hook speedily lay behind us ; the 
pilot wished us a pleasant voyage, and away we 
dashed into the wide Atlantic, buoyed up by the 
confidence of the hope that a few weeks would 
behold us safely landed on the shores of dear old 
England, 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 289 

The details of a voyage across the Atlantic 
have been so often laid before the public by trav- 
ellers, that they have now lost most of. that 
interest which they would possess were they less 
familiar. I shall not, therefore, detain the reader 
with the particulars of my passage, except to quote 
the experience of one day from my journal. 

Saturday, June 12th. Went on deck early in 
the morning ; found it very warm. We passed 
two ships on the same course with ourselves. I 
saw a rainbow on our starboard quarter, which 
reminded me of the old saying among sailors, 
" Rainbow in the morning, sailors take warning." 
It was then blowing a stiff breeze from the west. 
All the sails were up, studding sails out below 
and aloft. The wind increased during the morn- 
ing, with rain. We soon had heavy thunder, with 
sharp lightning ; the weather growing squally, we 
took in our studding sails. Passed another ship ; 
wind increasing with violent rain. 

One o'clock, P. M. Sailors have plenty to do 
to shorten sail. Furled top-gallant sails, reefed 
mizen topsail, fore topsail, and main topsail. We 
are running before the wind like a race-horse, at 
the rate of twelve knots an hour. 

Two o'clock, P. M. More thunder and light- 
ning, which threatened vengeance on our poor 
ship. The lightning is very sharp ; we have no 
conductor up ; it plays all around us, and, as it 
strikes the water, it hisses like red-hot iron. Sev- 
eral of the sailors felt a shock in descending the 
25 



290 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

rigging, especially the first and second mates. 
We expected it would strike us every moment? 
but a kind Providence protected us. The sea 
runs very high, and the ship flies about as if 
crazy. We have two men at the helm, who can 
scarcely keep her right ; it seems that she will 
pitch under every moment. 

Eight and one-half o'clock, P. M. Sea still roll- 
ing heavily ; we have shipped several heavy seas. 

Nine o'clock, P. M. Wind has shifted, and the 
weather is clearing off. 

During the whole of this gale, many of the pas- 
sengers were much alarmed, and some of them 
spent their time in praying and crying to the 
Lord. How strange that men will leave their 
eternal interests to an hour of danger, and forget 
them again the moment it passes away ! 

The first Sabbath of our life at sea, by permis- 
sion of Captain Barrows — who, by the way, was a 
very gentlemanly, kind commander — I held a 
religious meeting on the quarter or poop-deck. 
My audience contained all the cabin passengers, 
with most of those in the steerage, the captain 
and his mates, together with most of the crew. I 
told them I was not a parson, but I would talk 
to them as well as I could. After singing and 
prayer, I spoke from Jonah i. 6; alluding, 
among other things, to the late storm, and ex- 
horting them not to trust to storm religion, but to 
become the followers <3f God from genuine prin- 
ciple. My audience favored me with profound 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 291 

attention. Whether they were benefitted or not, 
the great day must determine. It was in this same 
ship that the eloquent Robert Newton returned to 
England. He favored her crew and passengers, 
every Sabbath of the voyage, with one of his 
excellent and powerful discourses. 

The following Sabbaths, owing to the weather 
and adverse circumstances, I contented myself 
with distributing tracts and with discoursing per- 
sonally with the passengers and crew. 

On the 26th of June, we saw the Irish coast 
on our weather-beam, and on the evening of the 
27th, we came to an anchor off Liverpool, after 
a short passage of twenty days. Here, a steam- 
boat came alongside, bringing several custom- 
house officers, who came on board, and carrying 
our cabin passengers ashore. The next morning 
we hauled into the magnificent docks of this cele- 
brated city of commerce, where our baggage was 
landed under the spacious sheds that surround 
the wharves. From thence it was conveyed, in 
small carts, drawn by donkies, to the custom- 
house for inspection. This tedious process over, 
the passengers separated, each bound to his re- 
spective home ; for, having passed the ordeal of the 
custom-house, every man is left at full liberty to 
go whither he pleases. I and my family pro- 
ceeded to a tavern, contrasting, as we went along, 
the dark, dingy aspect of Liverpool, everywhere 
discolored by the fumes of coal-smoke, with the 
light, cheerful aspect of our American cities ; and 



292 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

giving the preference to the latter, notwithstand- 
ing my English prejudices. 

The next morning we all took seats in the rail- 
road cars for Stafford, some seventy miles distant 
from Liverpool. After passing through the tun- 
nel, under the city, of more than a mile in length, 
we emerged into a beautiful country, adorned on 
all sides with antique buildings and rural scenery. 
These passed before us like the scenes in a pano- 
rama, and, by ten o'clock, A. M., we reached the 
stopping-place, a short distance from Stafford. 
Here we were literally in danger of being torn 
asunder by the eagerness of two hackmen, who, 
as we were the only passengers left at the depot, 
were especially zealous for our patronage. A 
police officer, one of whom is stationed at every 
depot on the road, speedily relieved us from their 
importunity. Stepping up, he asked me which 
man I would employ. Pointing to one of them, 
the other dropped my baggage, and in a few 
minutes, we were at the door of my brother-in- 
law, Mr. "William Tills. 

Although I had not seen my sister for thirty 
years, yet, no sooner did she see me, than, throw- 
ing her arms around my neck, she exclaimed, 
" Oh, my brother ! " I need not add, that our re- 
ception was cordial, and our stay with them char- 
acterized by every trait of genuine hospitality. 

The town was alive with the bustle of an elec- 
tion ; flags and streamers were floating over every 
tavern-sign and public building. Men, women 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 293 

and children crowded the streets, flushed with the 
excitement of party rivalry, while the continual 
pealing of the bells added a vivacity and liveliness 
to the scene, of which an American, who has 
never heard the merry ding-dong of a full peal of 
bells, can form no adequate conception. By five 
o'clock that afternoon, the polls closed, and the 
ceremony of chairing the successful candidates 
took place. First came a band of music, playing 
lively airs ; next followed the members elect, 
richly dressed, with ribbons on their hats, and 
seated on chairs wreathed with flowers and rib- 
bons, and surrounded with banners bearing vari- 
ous devices. These chairs were borne on men's 
shoulders, who proceeded through the streets, 
amid immense cheering from the crowds who 
followed, and from the ladies and citizens, who 
appeared waving their handkerchiefs from the 
windows ; the members, meanwhile, bowing, with 
their hats in their hands, until they reached the 
spot where their chaises waited to convey them 
to their respective homes. The sight was one of 
great interest to a stranger, and I advise every 
American who visits England, by all means, to 
witness an election day if possible. 

We remained with my brother-in-law about a 
week, visiting the various places and buildings 
whose antiquity or public character clothed them 
with especial interest. The town itself contains 
about eleven hundred inhabitants, and is the shire 
town of the county of Staffordshire. Its chief busi- 
25* 



294 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

ness is the manufacture of shoes. Among its 
ancient buildings, are the remains of a baronial 
castle, whose moss-covered battlements insensibly 
conduct the meditations of the beholder back to 
the days of feudal grandeur and knightly chiv- 
alry. St. Mary's Church is also a venerable 
Gothic structure, of solid masonry, whose walls 
have withstood the storms and changes of about 
ten centuries. They were about to expend 
£10,000 in repairing the dilapidations of time. I 
heard one discourse from the curate, and was es- 
pecially delighted with the grandeur and sublimity 
of the music from its magnificent organ, as it 
pealed along the aisles of the time-worn building, 
with an effect never witnessed in our smaller and 
more modern structures in America. 

Here also is the county prison, modelled, in 
most of its arrangements, after the state-prisons of 
America. It contained five hundred prisoners. 
A lunatic asylum and a hospital, or infirmary, for 
the poor, are found among the products of its be- 
nevolence : the former contained three hundred 
unfortunate occupants. 

The poor-house is a large commodious building, 
constructed of brick and stone, surrounded with 
large airy yards and gardens. It has also yards 
or courts within its walls, used as play-grounds for 
the children. The order within was excellent; 
every room looked remarkably neat and clean; 
the children were comfortably clothed, and wore 
an air of satisfaction and contentment. The 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 295 

whole house was under the control of a governor 
and matron, who were subject to the inspection of 
the board of overseers, chosen by the people. 
One excellent rule of the house struck me as 
being very useful : it provided for the admission 
of poor travellers to a supper and lodging ; re- 
quiring them, if dirty, to undergo a thorough ablu- 
tion and to change their linen. In the morning 
two or three hours' work was exacted as payment, 
and they were suffered to depart. The house 
had its teacher and chaplain; and altogether I 
thought that a great improvement had taken 
place in the poor-laws of the country. 

Having been so long away from England, 
everything peculiarly English struck me with 
almost as much force as it would a native Ameri- 
can. Hence, my feelings revolted at the sight of 
the innumerable beggars and vagrants, who 
crowded the streets. Italians, with their organs, 
white mice, or monkeys ; poor barefooted children, 
with their baskets of matches ; and, worse than 
either, houseless families imploring a crust for 
their half-naked little ones, with many a tale of 
sorrow and wo, were sights which greeted my 
eye and pained my heart every day. A sad spec- 
tacle indeed, and one which robs the lustre of the 
British crown of many a brilliant ray. The true 
glory of a people is their internal prosperity, and 
not the extension of their territory. 

The fifth of July renewed the excitement of the 
day I arrived. It was the time appointed for the 



296 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

county election. Similar scenes to those before 
described took place, accompanied with excessive 
drunkenness. Every tavern, and the number 
seemed endless, was crowded, mostly with the 
laboring classes, who were spending their hard- 
earned pence, for foaming tankards of English 
ale, the favorite beverage of John Bull, and one 
of the greatest hindrances to the progress of the 
temperance cause in that country ; though it is 
hoped that the triumphs of tee-totalism will ulti- 
mately overcome this national love for John Bar- 
leycorn, as beer is humorously called in the old 
song. 

After spending an extremely pleasant week in 
Stafford, we bade adieu to my affectionate sister 
and her husband, and, aided by omnipotent steam, 
we soon reached the great manufactory of Brit- 
ain — Birmingham. From thence we took stage 
for Woodstock, subject, however, to the inces- 
sant exactions of the host of waiters, guards 
and coachmen, that constantly assail the traveller 
in England, with a request to be "remembered" 
for every little service rendered. The country 
through which we rode was delightful ; all nature 
wore her greenest, brightest garments ; the roads 
were level, and as smooth as the most thorough 
Macadamizing could make them. Soon after 
seven in the evening, the stage drew up at the 
Marlborough Arms, the very hotel from whence I 
started thirty years since to go to sea. The first 
object that arrested my eye, was the revered form 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 297 

of my mother, waiting on the sidewalk, eager to 
embrace her much-loved, but long-absent son. 
Springing to the ground, I felt myself locked in 
her fond embrace. That was a moment of exquis- 
ite enjoyment, both to me and to my mother. 
Though deeply moved, she maintained a calm 
dignity of manner. In a few moments, she was 
showing the way, with the agility of a young 
woman, leading a new-found grand-child in each 
hand, to her residence, which was close at hand. 
Very soon we were all seated round the well- 
loaded board, the happiest family party in the 
world. 

Though it afforded me and my family great 
pleasure to visit scenes round Woodstock and 
Bladen, which had been familiar to me in my 
boyhood, yet, as the description would only prove 
tedious to the reader, it is omitted. A brief ac- 
count of our visit to Oxford, so celebrated for its 
university and colleges, may not be uninteresting. 

Oxford contains nineteen colleges and five 
halls. Of these, we visited only Christ Church 
and Lincoln colleges. Christ Church is the larg- 
est college in Oxford. We were forcibly struck 
with the magnificence of the octagonal tower, 
which is over the principal gateway. It has a 
dome top, and is ornamented in the Gothic style, 
from designs by that renowned architect, Sir 
Christopher Wren. It is also remarkable as con- 
taining the celebrated bell, known by the la- 
miliar name of " Great Tom," and weighing 



298 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

17,000 pounds. It is 7 feet 1 inch in diameter, 6 
feet 9 inches high, 6£ inches in thickness. I got 
under this massive piece of metal, and found abun- 
dant room to move about ; by standing on the clap- 
per I could reach the top over my head. This is 
the largest bell in England ; though Russia con- 
tains several of a much larger size. I also grati- 
fied myself by a survey of the splendid picture 
galleries and the spacious library, the former 
containing some of the finest specimens of paint- 
ing in the country, and the latter a large and 
valuable collection of books, manuscripts, prints, 
coins, &c. 

I made inquiries of our attendant for the room 
in which Charles Wesley studied while a mem- 
ber of this college ; but, although quite communi- 
cative on other subjects, he manifested a peculiar 
sensitiveness on this ; and I declined pressing the 
question. After quitting the college, happening 
to pass the residence of the Wesleyan minister, 
Mr. Rodgers, I called upon him, and related to 
him how the porter avoided my questions. He 
smiled, and said that they regarded the Wesleys 
as dissenters, and would therefore do them no 
honor. Mr. Rodgers was extremely obliging, 
he conducted us over his beautiful chapel, and 
then bore us company to Lincoln college, where 
he pointed out the room in which John Wesley 
studied when a member of this institution. He 
also showed us the other localities of Oxford, 
made sacred to me by their association with the 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 299 

person of Wesley's grandfather, the preaching of 
the Wesleys themselves, and the studies of Dr. 
Coke, the great missionary hero of the Methodist 
church. 

He then led us into Broad street, to the conse- 
crated spot where Latimer, Ridley and Cranmer 
sealed their faith by enduring a martyr's death. 
Three stones mark the spot where their ashes 
fell; and never did I feel a holier feeling than that 
which thrilled my heart, while I and my family 
stood on those time-worn stones : the spirits of 
the martyrs seemed to hover around us, breathing 
the same high, religious determination into our 
minds that filled their own bold and daring spirits. 
That moment amply repaid us for all the toil of 
our journey home. 

The following Sabbath I attended the chapels 
of the Wesleyans at Woodstock and Bladen, and 
in the evening had the pleasure of saying a word 
to my old Bladen associates, in the prayer-meet- 
ing. 

After receiving the utmost kindness, hospitality 
and evidences of friendship from my family and 
friends, I took leave of them forever. Many of 
the neighbors, with my mother, accompanied me 
to Woodstock. There I wished her adieu, and 
when the coach whirled away, she stood following 
us with her eyes, the last of the company, until a 
projection of the park wall hid us from each 
other. Who could forbear a tear in such a mo- 
ment ? I could not, and therefore suffered the big 



300 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

drops to roll down my cheeks at will. There is 
a luxury in such grief. 

That evening beheld us rolling through Hyde 
Park into the city of London, where I tarried a 
few days with my brother, by whom I was very 
cordially entertained. Here also I found several 
cousins, in prosperous circumstances, whose kind- 
ness contributed not a little to my enjoyment. 
Having visited St. Pauls, the Museum, Madame 
Tassard's magnificent collection of wax figures, 
and other curious and remarkable places, I took a 
trip to Walthamstow, the former residence of 
my aunt Turner. This good lady was dead, and 
almost forgotten by the people; her twenty-two 
children were all either dead or wandering, the 
neighbors knew not whither. Alas for the muta- 
tions of time ! 

A walk of two miles farther on, brought us to 
Wanstead, my birth-place. Here everything 
seemed natural, though great changes had passed 
over the people since I lived there, a thoughtless 
child. My common school teacher and my Sun- 
day school teacher had both gone to their spiritual 
destiny. My aunt was yet alive. My brother 
asked her if she knew me. Peering through her 
spectacles, and summoning up the imagery of the 
past, she at length called to mind her former 
protoge, and clasped me to her arms, with evident 
gratification. It occasions melancholy feeling to 
see the ravages of time on the persons and places 
one has not visited for years ! 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 301 

After a hasty visit to that noble home for the 
worn-out sailor at Greenwich, and a glance at the 
arsenal at Woolwich, I returned to London. 

We next visited the City Road Chapel, built by 
the exertions of the great Wesley himself. The 
sexton told us that when that wonderful man held 
the collection plate, one Sabbath, it was thrice 
filled with gold by the enthusiastic generosity of 
the congregation : a striking example of his per- 
sonal influence over his hearers. After examin- 
ing the chapel, I walked over the parsonage ad- 
joining, and while standing in the room, where, 
with his dying lips, the immortal founder of Meth- 
odism exclaimed, " The best of all is, God is with 
us," I felt inspired with his great spirit, and 
mentally resolved, like him to laboriously live,, 
that like him I might triumphantly die. From 
this sacred chamber I visited the tombs of Wesley, 
Clarke, Benson, Watson, Cooper, and other illus- 
trious men of the departed army of faithful war- 
riors in the cause of Christ ; and, as I stood over 
their ashes, my heart said with Peter on the 
mount of transfiguration, " Master, it is good for 
me to be here ! " 

Crossing the road into Bunhill fields, I stood 
before the tombstones of the celebrated Dr. Isaac 
Watts, and the less learned but equally renowned 
John Bunyan. Here the wicket gate, the wander- 
ings of the pilgrim, the land of Beulah, and the 
river of death passed vividly before my mind's 
eye, until, overcome with a rush of powerful feel- 
26 



302 A VOICE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

ing, I wept and walked away, a better man than 
when I entered those solemn resting-places of the 
glorious dead. 

The time allotted for my visit having nearly 
expired, my mind began to look towards the coun- 
try of my adoption, filled with a strong desire 
once more to tread its free soil. Strong as is the 
iove of home, it was not strong enough to induce 
a preference in my mind for England. America 
had become the dearer of the two. Indeed, I saw 
so many unpleasant things amidst the grandeur 
and pageantry of the rich, that I often felt dis- 
gusted. Such hosts of street beggars, such troops 
of poverty-stricken children, such a mass of de- 
graded laborers, such enormous taxation, made 
me shrink from bearing any part of so great a 
burden, and desire to link my future destiny with 
the rising fortunes of America. How the laborer 
of England lives, with such low wages, and such 
high prices for the staple commodities of life, is 
above my comprehension. Meat was from twelve 
to twenty-four cents per pound ; tea from one to 
two dollars ; coffee from twenty-five to forty cents, 
.and other things in proportion. To this add the 
intemperate habits of the poor, and how they live 
becomes a problem I know not how to solve. Yet, 
with all this poverty and wo, taxation is laid 
'upon the public with merciless severity, to furnish 
means to maintain the splendor and fatten the 
minions of royalty. First, they have to pay the 
annual interest .of eight hundred million pounds ; 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 303 

then come the enormous salaries of the monarch 
and the satellites of the throne. The queen, for 
her private purse, has 150,000 pounds ; the queen 
dowager, 100,000 pounds ; Prince Albert, 30,000 
pounds ; the Lord High Chancellor, 20,000 
pounds ; the Bishops, an average of 20,000 
pounds each. Besides these, follow sinecures 
and pensions innumerable, until the resources 
of the nation are preyed on by the throne, with 
the unsatisfied appetite of the grave — taking all,, 
and still crying, " give, give I" I felt happy, when 
beholding these things, that Providence had, after 
many trials in early life, cast my lot in America. 
On the 25th of August, we all sailed from 
London, in the cabin of a fine ship, commanded 
by Captain Eldridge, bound for Boston. The 
particulars of our stormy and tedious voyage 
would neither gratify nor amuse the reader, and 
they are therefore omitted. Suffice it to say, that 
the Atlantic passage could scarcely be more un- 
pleasant than it was to us ; but, by the care of 
divine Providence, after being seventy-five days 
at sea, exposed to every variety of wind and 
weather, deprived of religious advantages, and 
surrounded only by the ungodly, we safely landed, 
and found comfortable quarters at the United 
States Hotel, in Boston. From thence we pro- 
ceeded to Worcester, and then to Wilbraham,. 
where we were hailed with joyful congratulations 
by our neighbors, who had begun to mourn us as 



304 A VOiCE FROM THE MAIN DECK. 

among the lost at sea. Most gratefully did we 
all unite with the minister, the following Sabbath, 
in a thank-offering to Almighty God, for his 
goodness in preserving us from the dangers of 
the stormy sea. 

Thus, courteous reader, I have conducted thee 
through the mazes of my changeful life. Should 
the facts detailed in these pages lead thee to feel 
more interest hereafter in the elevation of the 
sailor, my labors will not have been in vain ; and 
should the recital of my Christian experience 
induce thee to embrace the same Saviour, who h$.s 
become my redemption and sacrifice, I shall joy- 
fully hail thee, when we meet together in the 
port of eternity. 

To my brothers of the sea, let me add one word. 
Yours is a life of danger, of toil, of suffering. 
Few men care for your souls ; but Jesus regards 
you. He watches you in all your wanderings ; 
he woos you to be his ! Will you not be per- 
suaded, by a fellow-sailor, to heed his voice. O 
sailor, " Turn, turn, for why will ye die ! " Go ! 
rest in His bosom, who says to you, " Come unto 
me all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I 
will give you rest." 

Note. Since the foregoing pages were written, I have 
received a letter announcing my mother's death. Peace 
to her beloved ashes ! May I meet her when I arrive in 
heaven ! The following extract contains the particulars of 
her death. 



SIX YEARS IN A MAN OF WAR. 305 

My dear Brother : 

I wrote you a few years ago of the death of my dear 
sister Fanny. I must now inform you that our dear 
mother breathed her last about 3 o'clock in the afternoon 
of the 29th of November. She wrote me a letter, dated 
the 25th, a few days before, stating that she enjoyed toler- 
able health, with the exception of a cold and a cough ; 
which I answered on the 29th, the day she died. She had 
been out that afternoon to see one of her neighbors for a 
few minutes. She walked home and talked with Maria, 
my sister, who was living with her, and then went up 
stairs. She had been gone but a quarter of an hour, when 
Maria, fearing she would be cold, called from the foot of 
the stairs and said, " Mother ! come down, I fear you will 
be cold." Receiving no answer, she went up, and, to her 
astonishment, found her lying half on and half off the bed, 
quite dead. She was so frightened that she alarmed the 
neighbors by her shrieks. They sent for a doctor, but it 
was all in vain. A neighbor passing by, stepped in and 
helped lay her on the bed. They could not undress her 
until a jury could be obtained to sit on the body, which 
was not procured until the next day. They brought in a 
verdict of, died by a fit of apoplexy. We had her decently 
buried on the 3d of December, at Bladen, by the side of 
my father. 

# # # # # 

I remain your affectionate brother, 

Nathaniel Newman. 
26* 



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